Search results for: drug prevention programme

Authors: Samson F. Agberotimi, Rachel B. Asagba, Choja Oduaran

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Disturbing rate of use of different substances such as cannabis, alcohol, as well as pharmaceutical drugs among Nigerian youth in recent times has been affirmed in the literature. There is, however, a paucity of literature addressing the pattern of usage of such drugs, especially for clinical relevance and intervention planning. The present study investigated the prevalence and pattern of drug usage among youth in Ogbomoso, Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey involving 92 purposively selected participants comprising of 82 males and 10 females aged between 15 and 24 years was conducted. A measure of drug involvement and demographic characteristics was administered to the participants. Descriptive analysis was done using the SPSS v.21. Cannabis (79.4%), alcohol (77.2%), codeine (70.7%), tobacco (65.2%) and tramadol (47.8%) are the five most frequently used substances. However, the majority of the users of tobacco (68.3%) and alcohol (62.0%) are casual users indicating a mild level of use of the substances among the participants. On the other hand, 49.2% of the codeine users, 27.3% of the tramadol users, and 21.9% of the cannabis users reported harmful/intensive levels of use. Furthermore, the results revealed individuals at the pathological level of use as 28.8% for cannabis, 25.0% for tramadol, and 21.6% for codeine, and thus require clinical/therapeutic intervention. In conclusion, cannabis remains the most frequently used substance among youths. However, there appears to be a shift from the use of conventional psychoactive substances to pharmaceutical/prescription drugs such as codeine and tramadol. The findings of this study raised the need for both preventive and therapeutic interventions addressing the problem of substance use disorder among youth in contemporary society.

Keywords: Ogbomoso, pattern of drug use, prevalence of drug use, youth

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Authors: Vipin Saini, Sunil Kamboj, Suman Bala, A. Pandurangan

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The present research is aimed at fabrication of multiple-unit controlled-release tablet formulation of aceclofenac by employing acrylic polymers as the release controlling excipients for drug multi-particulates to achieve the desired objectives of maintaining the same controlled release characteristics as that prior to their compression into tablet. Various manufacturers are successfully manufacturing and marketing aceclofenac controlled release tablet by applying directly coating materials on the tablet. The basic idea behind development of such formulations was to employ aqueous acrylics polymers dispersion as an alternative to the existing approaches, wherein the forces of compression may cause twist of drug pellets, but do not have adverse effects on the drug release properties. Thus, the study was undertaken to illustrate manufacturing of controlled release aceclofenac multiple-unit tablet formulation.

Keywords: aceclofenac, multiple-unit tablets, acrylic polymers, controlled-release

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Authors: Nizar Jawad Hadi, Sajad Abd Alabbas

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Because of their ability to encapsulate and release drugs in a controlled manner, microspheres fabricated from polymer emulsions using microfluidic devices have shown promise for drug delivery applications. In this study, the effects of velocity, density, viscosity, and surface tension, as well as channel diameter, on microsphere generation were investigated using Fluent Ansys software. The software was programmed with the physical properties of the polymer emulsion such as density, viscosity and surface tension. Simulation will then be performed to predict fluid flow and microsphere production and improve the design of drug delivery applications based on changes in these parameters. The effects of capillary and Weber numbers are also studied. The results of the study showed that the size of the microspheres can be controlled by adjusting the speed and diameter of the channel. Narrower microspheres resulted from narrower channel widths and higher flow rates, which could improve drug delivery efficiency, while smaller microspheres resulted from lower interfacial surface tension. The viscosity and density of the polymer emulsion significantly affected the size of the microspheres, ith higher viscosities and densities producing smaller microspheres. The loading and drug release properties of the microspheres created with the microfluidic technique were also predicted. The results showed that the microspheres can efficiently encapsulate drugs and release them in a controlled manner over a period of time. This is due to the high surface area to volume ratio of the microspheres, which allows for efficient drug diffusion. The ability to tune the manufacturing process using factors such as speed, density, viscosity, channel diameter, and surface tension offers a potential opportunity to design drug delivery systems with greater efficiency and fewer side effects.

Keywords: polymer emulsion, microspheres, numerical simulation, microfluidic device

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Authors: Flavia Laffleur

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Summary: Biomaterials have gained immense interest in the pharmaceutical research in the last decades. Hyaluronic acid a carbohydrate and mucopolysaccharide was chemically modified in order to achieve and establish a promising platform for buccal drug delivery. Aim: Novel biomaterial was tested for its potential for buccal drug delivery. Background: Polysaccharide hyaluronic acid (HA) was chemically modified with cysteine ethyl ether (CYS). By immobilization of the thiol-bearing ligand on the polymeric backbone the thiolated bioconjugate HA-CYS was obtained. Methodology: Mucoadhesive, permeation enhancing and stability potential as well as mechanical, physicochemical properties further mucoadhesive strength, swelling index and residence time were investigated. The developed thiolated bioconjugate displayed enhanced mucoadhesiveness on buccal mucosa as well as permeation behavior and polymer stability. The near neutral pH and negative cytotoxicity studies indicated their non-irritability and biocompatible nature with biological tissues. Further, the model drug sulforhodamine 101 was incorporated to determine its drug release profiles. Results: The synthesized thiomer showed no toxicity. The mucoadhesion of thiolated hyaluronic acid on buccal mucosa was significantly improved in comparison to unmodified one. The biomaterial showed 2.5-fold higher stability in polymer structure. The release of sulforhodamine in the presence of thiolated hyaluronic acid was 2.3-fold increased compared to hyaluronic acid. Conclusion: Thus, the promising results encourage further investigations and exploitation of this versatile polysaccharide. So far, hyaluronic acid was not evaluated for buccal drug delivery.

Keywords: buccal delivery, hyaluronic acid, mucoadhesion, thiomers

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Authors: Polina Prokopovich

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Disease-modifying osteoarthritis drugs (DMOADs) are a new therapeutic class for OA, preventing or inhibiting OA development. Unfortunately, none of the DMOADs have been clinically approved due to their poor therapeutic effects in clinical trials. The joint environment has played a role in the poor clinical performance of these drugs by limiting the amount of drug effectively delivered as well as the time that the drug spends within the joint space. The current study aims to enhance the cartilage uptake and retention time of the DMOADs-model (licofelone), which showed a significant therapeutic effect against OA progression and is currently in phase III. Licofelone will be covalently conjugated to the hydrolysable, cytocompatible, and cationic poly beta-amino ester polymers (PBAE). The cationic polymers (A16 and A87) can be electrostatically attached to the negatively charged cartilage component (glycosaminoglycan), which will increase the drug penetration through the cartilage and extend the drug time within the cartilage. In the cartilage uptake and retention time studies, an increase of 18 to 37 times of the total conjugated licofelone to A87 and A16 was observed when compared to the free licofelone. Furthermore, the conjugated licofelone to A87 was detectable within the cartilage at 120 minutes, while the free licofelone was not detectable after 60 minutes. Additionally, the A87-licofelone conjugate showed no effect on the chondrocyte viability. In conclusion, the cationic A87 and A16 polymers increased the percentage of licofelone within the cartilage, which could potentially enhance the therapeutic effect and pharmacokinetic performance of licofelone or other DMOADs clinically.

Keywords: PBAE, cartilage., osteoarthritis, injectable biomaterials, drug delivery

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Authors: Farnaz Alborzi, Angelika Schmitz, Rainer Stamminger

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Reducing water temperatures in the wash phase of a washing programme and increasing the overall cycle durations are the latest trends in decreasing energy consumption of washing programmes. Since the implementation of the new energy efficiency classes in 2010, manufacturers seem to apply the aforementioned washing strategy with lower temperatures combined with longer programme durations extensively to realise energy-savings needed to meet the requirements of the highest energy efficiency class possible. A semi-representative on-line survey in eleven European countries (Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom) was conducted by Bonn University in 2015 to shed light on consumer opinion and behaviour regarding the effects of the lower washing temperature and longer cycle duration in laundry washing on consumers’ acceptance of the programme. The risk of the long wash cycle is that consumers might not use the energy efficient Standard programmes and will think of this option as inconvenient and therefore switch to shorter, but more energy consuming programmes. Furthermore, washing in a lower temperature may lead to the problem of cross-contamination. Washing behaviour of over 5,000 households was studied in this survey to provide support and guidance for manufacturers and policy designers. Qualified households were chosen following a predefined quota: -Involvement in laundry washing: substantial, -Distribution of gender: more than 50 % female , -Selected age groups: -20–39 years, -40–59 years, -60–74 years, -Household size: 1, 2, 3, 4 and more than 4 people. Furthermore, Eurostat data for each country were used to calculate the population distribution in the respective age class and household size as quotas for the consumer survey distribution in each country. Before starting the analyses, the validity of each dataset was controlled with the aid of control questions. After excluding the outlier data, the number of the panel diminished from 5,100 to 4,843. The primary outcome of the study is European consumers are willing to save water and energy in a laundry washing but reluctant to use long programme cycles since they don’t believe that the long cycles could be energy-saving. However, the results of our survey don’t confirm that there is a relation between frequency of using Standard cotton (Eco) or Energy-saving programmes and the duration of the programmes. It might be explained by the fact that the majority of washing programmes used by consumers do not take so long, perhaps consumers just choose some additional time reduction option when selecting those programmes and this finding might be changed if the Energy-saving programmes take longer. Therefore, it may be assumed that introducing the programme duration as a new measure on a revised energy label would strongly influence the consumer at the point of sale. Furthermore, results of the survey confirm that consumers are more willing to use lower temperature programmes in order to save energy than accepting longer programme cycles and majority of them accept deviation from the nominal temperature of the programme as long as the results are good.

Keywords: duration, energy-saving, standard programmes, washing temperature

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Authors: Salvana P. M. Costa, Tarcyla A. Gomes, Giovanna C. R. M. Schver, Leslie R. M. Ferraz, Cristovão R. Silva, Magaly A. M. Lyra, Danilo A. F. Fonte, Larissa A. Rolim, Amanda C. Q. M. Vieira, Miracy M. Albuquerque, Pedro J. Rolim-neto

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Efavirenz (EFV) is considered one of the most widely used anti-HIV drugs. However, it is classified as a drug class II (poorly soluble, highly permeable) according to the biopharmaceutical classification system, presenting problems of absorption in the gastrointestinal tract and thereby inadequate bioavailability for its therapeutic action. This study aimed to overcome these barriers by developing and obtaining solid dispersions (SD) in order to increase the EFZ bioavailability. For the development of SD with EFV, theoretical and practical studies were initially performed. Thus, there was a choice of a carrier to be used. For this, it was analyzed the various criteria such as glass transition temperature of the polymer, intra- and intermolecular interactions of hydrogen bonds between drug and polymer, the miscibility between the polymer and EFV. The choice of the obtainment method of the SD came from the analysis of which method is the most consolidated in both industry and literature. Subsequently, the choice of drug and carrier concentrations in the dispersions was carried out. In order to obtain DS to present the drug in its amorphous form, as the DS were obtained, they were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). SD are more stable the higher the amount of polymer present in the formulation. With this assumption, a SD containing 10% of drug was initially prepared and then this proportion was increased until the XRD showed the presence of EFV in its crystalline form. From this point, it was not produced SD with a higher concentration of drug. Thus, it was allowed to select PVP-K30, PVPVA 64 and the SOLUPLUS formulation as carriers, once it was possible the formation of hydrogen bond between EFV and polymers since these have hydrogen acceptor groups capable of interacting with the donor group of the drug hydrogen. It is worth mentioning also that the films obtained, independent of concentration used, were presented homogeneous and transparent. Thus, it can be said that the EFV is miscible in the three polymers used in the study. The SD and Physical Mixtures (PM) with these polymers were prepared by the solvent method. The EFV diffraction profile showed main peaks at around 2θ of 6,24°, in addition to other minor peaks at 14,34°, 17,08°, 20,3°, 21,36° and 25,06°, evidencing its crystalline character. Furthermore, the polymers showed amorphous nature, as evidenced by the absence of peaks in their XRD patterns. The XRD patterns showed the PM overlapping profile of the drug with the polymer, indicating the presence of EFV in its crystalline form. Regardless the proportion of drug used in SD, all the samples showed the same characteristics with no diffraction peaks EFV, demonstrating the behavior amorphous products. Thus, the polymers enabled, effectively, the formation of amorphous SD, probably due to the potential hydrogen bonds between them and the drug. Moreover, the XRD analysis showed that the polymers were able to maintain its amorphous form in a concentration of up to 80% drug.

Keywords: amorphous form, Efavirenz, solid dispersions, solubility

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Authors: Muhammad Imran Din

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The aim of this study was to understand the interaction between multi-walled carbon nano tubes (MCNTs) and anticancer agents and evaluate the drug-loading ability of MCNTs. Batch adsorption experiments were carried out for adsorption of 5-Fluorouracil (5-FL) using MCNTs. The effect of various operating variables, viz., adsorbent dosage, pH, contact time and temperature for adsorption of 5-Fluorouracil (5-FL) has been studied. The Freundlich adsorption model was successfully employed to describe the adsorption process. It was found that the pseudo-second-order mechanism is predominant and the overall rate of the 5-Fluorouracil (5-FL) adsorption process appears to be controlled by the more than one-step. Thermodynamic parameters such as free energy change (ΔG°), enthalpy change (ΔH°) and entropy change (ΔS°) have been calculated respectively, revealed the spontaneous, endothermic and feasible nature of adsorption process. The results showed that carbon nano tubes were able to form supra molecular complexes with 5-Fluorouracil (5-FL) by π-π stacking and possessed favorable loading properties as drug carriers.

Keywords: drug, adsorption, anticancer, 5-Fluorouracil (5-FL)

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Authors: Chinwe Susan Oguejiofor, Daniel Osamwonyi Iyioha

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Over the last two decades, Nigeria has witnessed an upsurge in graduate unemployment occasioned by the lack of industries and proliferation of tertiary institutions churning out thousands of graduates every year to compete for the few available job space. The astronomical rise in the unemployment rate amongst Nigerian graduates however, is principally assumed to be the defective curricula of the universities and other tertiary institutions whose focus is on training for white-collar jobs. Although graduate unemployment has become a global scourge, its adverse economic impact is believed to be more in developing economies like Nigeria with a huge young population within the working age who cannot seem to find gainful employment to make out a respectable livelihood. Thus, higher institutions especially Universities found itself under pressure and intense competition to produce graduates who can think outside the box and create jobs; hence there was the need to focus on instilling hands-on practical job skills into their students that will make them job creators rather than job seekers on graduation. In the same vein stakeholders in education have continued to lend their voices to the philosophy that the undergraduate curricula should be completely overhauled to accomodate the development of hand-on practical skills and innovative capacity relevant to creating solutions to societal problems. In a bid to correct this anomaly, the Federal Government of Nigeria in conjunction with the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment inaugurated a programme tagged “University Entrepreneurship Development Programme” (UNEDEP) whose objective was basically to promote self-employment among the youth right from the institutions of higher learning. But the question is whether the objectives of the programme have actually been achieved. Despite the inclusion in Nigerian educational curriculum close to two decades now,, one wonder if the essence has been aborted. Thus, the paper focused on the concept of entrepreneurship education, objectives of entrepreneurship education, Graduates unemployment, rethinking entrepreneurship education programme in tertiary institution for employment generation , role of entrepreneurship in job creation, challenges of entrepreneurship education in tertiary institution in Nigeria, conclusion and recommendations were drawn accordingly.

Keywords: rethinking, entrepreneurship education, remedy, unemployment, job creation

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Authors: H. C. Chen, S. W. C. Chan, K. Cheng, A. Vathsala, H. K. Sran, H. He

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Background: End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is the last stage of chronic kidney disease. The numbers of patients with ESRD have increased worldwide due to the growing number of aging, diabetes and hypertension populations. Patients with ESRD suffer from physical illness and psychological distress due to complex treatment regimens, which often affect the patients’ social and psychological functioning. As a result, the patients may fail to perform daily self-care and self-management, and consequently experience worsening conditions. Aims: The study aims to examine the effectiveness of a self-efficacy psychoeducational programme on primary outcome (self-efficacy) and secondary outcomes (psychological wellbeing, treatment adherence, and quality of life) in patients with ESRD and haemodialysis in Singapore. Methodology: A randomised controlled, two-group pretest and repeated posttests design will be carried out. A total of 154 participants (n=154) will be recruited. The participants in the control group will receive a routine treatment. The participants in the intervention group will receive a self-efficacy psychoeducational programme in addition to the routine treatment. The programme is a two-session of educational intervention in a week. A booklet, two consecutive sessions of face-to-face individual education, and an abdominal breathing exercise are adopted in the programme. Outcome measurements include Dialysis Specific Self-efficacy Scale, Kidney Disease Quality of Life- 36 Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Renal Adherence Attitudes Questionnaire and Renal Adherence Behaviour Questionnaire. The questionnaires will be used to measure at baseline, 1- and 3- and 6-month follow-up periods. Process evaluation will be conducted with a semi-structured face to face interview. Quantitative data will be analysed using SPSS21.0 software. Qualitative data will be analysed by content analysis. Significance of the study: This study will identify a clinically useful and potentially effective approach to help patients with end-stage renal disease and haemodialysis by enhancing their self-efficacy in self-care behaviour, and therefore improving their psychological well-being, treatment adherence and quality of life. This study will provide information to develop clinical guidelines to improve patients’ disease self-management and to enhance health-related outcomes and it will help reducing disease burden.

Keywords: end-stage renal disease (ESRD), haemodialysis, psychoeducation, self-efficacy

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Authors: Shraddha Acharya, Sharad Kumar Sharma, Ratna Bhattarai, Bhagwan Maharjan, Deepak Dahal, Serpahine Kaminsa

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Background: Drug-resistant (DR) tuberculosis (TB) continues to be a threat in Nepal, with an estimated 2800 new cases every year. The treatment of DR-TB with second line TB drugs is complex and takes longer time with comparatively lower treatment success rate than drug-susceptible TB. Delay in treatment initiation for DR-TB patients might further result in unfavorable treatment outcomes and increased transmission. This study thus aims to determine median time taken to initiate second-line treatment among Rifampicin Resistant (RR) diagnosed TB patients and to assess the proportion of treatment delays among various type of DR-TB cases. Method: A retrospective cohort study was done using national routine electronic data (DRTB and TB Laboratory Patient Tracking System-DHIS2) on drug resistant tuberculosis patients between January 2020 and December 2022. The time taken for treatment initiation was computed as– days from first diagnosis as RR TB through Xpert MTB/Rif test to enrollment on second-line treatment. The treatment delay (>7 days after diagnosis) was calculated. Results: Among total RR TB cases (N=954) diagnosed via Xpert nationwide, 61.4% were enrolled under shorter-treatment regimen (STR), 33.0% under longer treatment regimen (LTR), 5.1% for Pre-extensively drug resistant TB (Pre-XDR) and 0.4% for Extensively drug resistant TB (XDR) treatment. Among these cases, it was found that the median time from diagnosis to treatment initiation was 6 days (IQR:2-15.8). The median time was 5 days (IQR:2.0-13.3) among STR, 6 days (IQR:3.0-15.0) among LTR, 30 days (IQR:5.5-66.8) among Pre-XDR and 4 days (IQR:2.5-9.0) among XDR TB cases. The overall treatment delay (>7 days after diagnosis) was observed in 42.4% of the patients, among which, cases enrolled under Pre-XDR contributed substantially to treatment delay (72.0%), followed by LTR (43.6%), STR (39.1%) and XDR (33.3%). Conclusion: Timely diagnosis and prompt treatment initiation remain fundamental focus of the National TB program. The findings of the study, however suggest gaps in timeliness of treatment initiation for the drug-resistant TB patients, which could bring adverse treatment outcomes. Moreover, there is an alarming delay in second line treatment initiation for the Pre-XDR TB patients. Therefore, this study generates evidence to identify existing gaps in treatment initiation and highlights need for formulating specific policies and intervention in creating effective linkage between the RR TB diagnosis and enrollment on second line TB treatment with intensified efforts from health providers for follow-ups and expansion of more decentralized, adequate, and accessible diagnostic and treatment services for DR-TB, especially Pre-XDR TB cases, due to the observed long treatment delays.

Keywords: drug-resistant, tuberculosis, treatment initiation, Nepal, treatment delay

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Authors: M. R. Aher, R. B. Laware, G. S. Asane, B. S. Kuchekar

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Objective: Studies have shown that a new combination therapy with Artemisinin derivatives and curcumin is unique, with potential advantages over known ACTs. In present study an attempt was made to prepare microparticulate drug delivery system of Curcumin-Zn complex and evaluate it in combination with artemether for antimalarial activity. Material and method: Curcumin Zn complex was prepared and encapsulated using sodium alginate. Microparticles thus obtained are further coated with various enteric polymers at different coating thickness to control the release. Microparticles are evaluated for encapsulation efficiency, drug loading and in vitro drug release. Roentgenographic Studies was conducted in rabbits with BaSO 4 tagged formulation. Optimized formulation was screened for antimalarial activity using P. berghei-infected mice survival test and % paracetemia inhibition, alone (three oral dose of 5mg/day) and in combination with arthemether (i.p. 500, 1000 and 1500µg). Curcumin-Zn(II) was estimated in serum after oral administration to rats by using spectroflurometry. Result: Microparticles coated with Cellulose acetate phthalate showed most satisfactory and controlled release with 479 min time for 60% drug release. X-ray images taken at different time intervals confirmed the retention of formulation in GI tract. Estimation of curcumin in serum by spectroflurometry showed that drug concentration is maintained in the blood for longer time with tmax of 6 hours. The survival time (40 days post treatment) of mice infected with P. berghei was compared to survival after treatment with either Curcumin-Zn(II) microparticles artemether combination, curcumin-Zn complex and artemether. Oral administration of Curcumin-Zn(II)-artemether prolonged the survival of P.berghei-infected mice. All the mice treated with Curcumin-Zn(II) microparticles (5mg/day) artemether (1000µg) survived for more than 40 days and recovered with no detectable parasitemia. Administration of Curcumin-Zn(II) artemether combination reduced the parasitemia in mice by more than 90% compared to that in control mice for the first 3 days after treatment. Conclusion: Antimalarial activity of the curcumin Zn-artemether combination was more pronounced than mono therapy. A single dose of 1000µg of artemether in curcumin-Zn combination gives complete protection in P. berghei-infected mice. This may reduce the chances of drug resistance in malaria management.

Keywords: formulation, microparticulate drug delivery, antimalarial, pharmaceutics

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Authors: Salma E. Ahmed

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Since the mid 50’s, enormous attention has been paid towards nanocarriers and their applications in drug and gene delivery. Among these vesicles, liposomes and micelles have been heavily investigated due to their many advantages over other types. Liposomes, for instance, are mostly distinguished by their ability to encapsulate hydrophobic, hydrophilic and amphiphilic drugs. Micelles, on the other hand, are self-assembled shells of lipids, amphiphilic or oppositely charged block copolymers that, once exposed to aqueous media, can entrap hydrophobic agents, and possess prolonged circulation in the bloodstream. Both carriers are considered compatible and biodegradable. Nevertheless, they have limited stabilities, chemical versatilities, and drug encapsulation efficiencies. In order to overcome these downsides, strategies for optimizing a novel drug delivery system that has the architecture of liposomes and polymeric characteristics of micelles have been evolved. Polymersomes are vehicles with fluidic cores and hydrophobic shells that are protected and isolated from the aqueous media by the hydrated hydrophilic brushes which give the carrier its distinctive polymeric bilayer shape. Similar to liposomes, this merit enables the carrier to encapsulate a wide range of agents, despite their affinities and solubilities in water. Adding to this, the high molecular weight of the amphiphiles that build the body of the polymersomes increases their colloidal and chemical stabilities and reduces the permeability of the polymeric membranes, which makes the vesicles more protective to the encapsulated drug. These carriers can also be modified in ways that make them responsive when targeted or triggered, by manipulating their composition and attaching moieties and conjugates to the body of the carriers. These appealing characteristics, in addition to the ease of synthesis, gave the polymersomes greater potentials in the area of drug delivery. Thus, their design and characterization, in comparison with liposomes and micelles, are briefly reviewed in this work.

Keywords: controlled release, liposomes, micelles, polymersomes, targeting

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Authors: Burcu Doymus, Fatma N. Kok, Sakip Onder

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Titanium and titanium-based materials are commonly used to replace or regenerate the injured or lost tissues because of accidents or illnesses. Hospital infections and strong bond formation at the implant-tissue interface are directly affecting the success of the implantation as weak bonding with the native tissue and hospital infections lead to revision surgery. The purpose of the presented study is to modify the surface of the titanium substrates with nano/microspheres for local drug delivery and to prevent hospital infections. Firstly, titanium surfaces were silanized with APTES (3-Triethoxysilylpropylamine) following the negatively charged oxide layer formation. Then characterization studies using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were done on the modified surfaces. Secondly, microspheres/nanospheres were prepared with chitosan that is a natural polymer and having valuable properties such as non-toxicity, high biocompatibility, low allergen city and biodegradability for biomedical applications. Antibiotic (ciprofloxacin) loaded micro/nanospheres have been fabricated using emulsion cross-linking method and have been immobilized onto the titanium surfaces with different immobilization techniques such as covalent bond and entrapment. Optimization studies on size and drug loading capacities of micro/nanospheres were conducted before the immobilization process. Light microscopy and SEM were used to visualize and measure the size of the produced micro/nanospheres. Loaded and released drug amounts were determined by using UV- spectrophotometer at 278 nm. Finally, SEM analysis and drug release studies on the micro/nanospheres coated Ti surfaces were done. As a conclusion, it was shown that micro/nanospheres were immobilized onto the surfaces successfully and drug release from these surfaces was in a controlled manner. Moreover, the density of the micro/nanospheres after the drug release studies was higher on the surfaces where the entrapment technique was used for immobilization. Acknowledgement: This work is financially supported by The Scientific and Technological Research Council Of Turkey (Project # 217M220)

Keywords: chitosan, controlled drug release, nanosphere, nosocomial infections, titanium

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Authors: Behcet Al, Şener Cindoruk, Suat Zengin, Mehmet Murat Oktay, Mehmet Mustafa Sunar, Hatice Eroglu, Cuma Yildirim

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Objective: In present study we aimed to investigate the chronic drug use due to chronic diseases in patients admitted to emergency department. Materials-Methods: 144 patients who applied to emergency department (ED) of medicine school of Gaziantep University between June 2013 and September 2013 with chronic diseases and use chronic drugs were included. Information about drugs used by patients were recorded. Results: Of patients, half were male, half were female, and the mean age was 58 years. The first three common diseases were diabetes mellitus, hypertension and coronary artery diseases. Of patients, %79.2 knew their illness. Fifty patients began to use drug within three months, 36 patient began to use within the last one year. While 42 patients brought all of their drugs with themselves, 17 patients brought along a portion of drugs. While three patients stopped their medication completely, 125 patients received medication on a regular basis. Fifty-two patient described the drugs with names, 13 patients described with their colors, 3 patients described by grammes, 45 patients described with the size of the tablet and 13 patients could not describe the drugs. Ninety-two patients explained which kind of drugs were used for each diseases, 17 patient explained partly, and 35 patients had no idea. Hundred patients received medication by themselves, 44 patients medications were giving by their relatives and med carers. Of medications, 140 were written by doctors directly, three medication were given by pharmacist; and one patient bought the drug by himself. For 11 patients the drugs were not harmonious to their diseases. Fifty-one patients admitted to the ED two times within last week, and 73 admitted two times within last month. Conclusion: The majority of patients with chronic diseases and use chronic drugs know their diseases and use the drugs in order, but do not have enough information about their medication.

Keywords: chronic disease, drug use, emergency department, medication

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Authors: Ibrahim M. Labouta, Marwa H. El-Wakil, Hayam M. Ashour, Ahmed M. Hassan, Manal N. Saudi

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The receptor tyrosine kinase c-Met is an attractive target for therapeutic treatment of cancers nowadays. Among the wide variety of heterocycles that have been explored for developing c-Met kinase inhibitors, the 1,2,4-triazines have been rarely investigated, although they are well known in the literature to possess antitumor activities. Herein we describe the design and synthesis of a novel series of 1,2,4-triazine derivatives possessing N-acylarylhydrazone moiety and another series combining the 1,2,4-triazine scaffold to the well-known anticancer drug 6-MP in order to explore their “double-drug” effect. The synthesized compounds were evaluated for their in vitro antitumor activity against three c-Met addicted cancer cell lines (A549, HT-29 and MKN-45). Most compounds showed moderate to excellent antiproliferative activity and four compounds showed potent inhibitory activity more than the reference drug Foretinib against one or more cancer cell lines. The obtained results revealed that the potent compounds are highly selective to A549 (lung adenocarcinoma) cancer cell line. The c-Met kinase inhibitory activity of the potent derivatives is still under investigation. The present study clearly demonstrates that the 1,2,4-triazine core ring exhibits promising antitumor activity with potential c-Met kinase inhibitory activity.

Keywords: 1, 2, 4-triazine, antitumor, c-Met inhibitor, double-drug

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Authors: Seree Klaengair, Sunpetch Angkititrakul, Dusadee Phongaran, Chaiyaporn Soikum

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The objectives of this study is to determine the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance pattern of Salmonella spp. isolated from chickens at slaughterhouses in northeast of Thailand. During 2015-2016, all samples were isolated and identified by ISO 6579:2002. A total of 604 samples of rectal swab were collected and isolated for the presence of Salmonella. Salmonella was detected in 109 of 604 (18.05%) samples. The most prevalent serovars were Salmonella Kentucky (22.94%), Give (20.18%) and Typhimurium (7.34%). In this study, 66.97% of the isolates were resistant to at least one antimicrobial drug and 38.39% were multidrug resistant. The highest resistances were found in nalidixic acid (49.54%), ampicillin (30.28%), tetracycline (27.52%), amoxicillin (26.61%), ciprofloxacin (23.85) and norfloxacin (19.27%). The results showed high prevalence of Salmonella spp. in chickens and antimicrobial resistance patterns. Prevention and control of Salmonella contamination in chickens should be consumer healthy.

Keywords: antimicrobial resistance, Salmonella spp., chicken, slaughterhouse

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Authors: Harish K. Chandrawanshi, Mithun S. Rajput, Neelima Choure, Purnima Dey Sarkar, Shailesh Jain

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The present research study aimed to fabricate and evaluate biodegradable nanoparticles of aromatase inhibitor letrozole, intended for breast cancer therapy. Letrozole loaded poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide acid) nanoparticles were prepared by solvent evaporation method using dichlorometane as solvent (oil phase) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as aqueous phase. Prepared nanoparticles were characterized by particle size, infrared spectra, drug loading efficiency, drug entrapment efficiency and in vitro release and also evaluated for in vivo anticancer activity. The high speed homogenizer was used to produce stable nanoparticles of mean size range 198.35 ± 0.04 nm with high entrapment efficiency (69.86 ± 2.78%). Percentage of drug and homogenization speed significantly influenced the particle size, entrapment efficiency and release (p<0.05). The nanoparticles show significant in vivo anticancer activity against Ehrlich ascites carcinoma in mice. The significant system sustained the release of letrozole drug effectively and further investigation could exhibit its potential usefulness in breast cancer therapy.

Keywords: breast cancer/therapy, letrozole, nanoparticles, PLGA

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Authors: Moustafa Ali Elwan, Ibrahim Salem Abdelrafa, Ashraf Moharm

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Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are among the most commonly prescribed oral and topical drugs worldwide. Moreover, NSAIDs are responsible for most of all adverse drug reactions. For several decades, there are numerous attempts to use the cutaneous layers as a gate into the body for the local delivery of the therapeutic agent. Transdermal drug delivery is a validated technology contributing significantly to global pharmaceutical care. Transdermal Drug Delivery systems can be improved by using therapeutic agents. Moreover, Transdermal Drug Delivery systems can be improved by using chemical enhancers like ultrasound or iontophoresis. Iontophoresis provides a mechanism to enhance the penetration of hydrophilic and charged molecules across the skin. Objective: to compare the drug administration by ‘iontophoresis’ versus the oral rule. Methods: This study was conducted at the Faculty of Physical Therapy, Modern University for technology and information, Cairo, Egypt, on 20 participants (8 female & 12 male) who complained of tennis elbow. Their mean age was (25.45 ± 3.98) years, and all participants were assessed in many aspects: Pain threshold was assessed by algometer. Range of motion was assessed by electro goniometer, and isometric strength was assessed by a portable hand-held dynamometer. Then Participants were randomly assigned into two groups: group A was treated with oral NSAID (diclofenac) while group B was treated via administration of NSAIDs (diclofenac) via an iontophoresis device. All the participants were subjected to blood samples analysis in both pre-administration of the drug and post-administration of the drug for 24 hours (sample/every 6 hours). Results: The results demonstrated that there was a significant improvement in group b, “iontophoresis NSAIDs group,” more than in group B,” oral NSAIDs group,” in all measurements ‘ pain threshold, strength, and range of motion. Also, the iontophoresis method shows higher maximum plasma concentrations (Cmax) and concentration-time curves than the oral method.

Keywords: diclofenac, iontophoresis, NSAIDs, oral, tennis elbow

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Authors: Mehdi Moghimi

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Doctrines associated with situational prevention considers 'place of committing crime' as one of the fundamental elements of a crime. Meanwhile, with regard to causing or having effect on a crime situation, 'place' can be one of the pivotal indices in situational prevention analyses. This study aims at examining the role of place in construction of a crime situation and explaining the relationship between 'place' and situational preventive measures and procedures. Also, how to identify high-crime places, types of high-crime places and the factors influencing their creation are among the most important secondary objectives of this article. Concerning the purpose, it is a practical study whose material has been written through a documentary method using original sources (English), books and written and translated articles etc. This article is written in two main parts. In the first section, cognitive-conceptual issues about 'place' as one of the main causes of crime situation, and its effective interaction with situational preventive measures will be reviewed. The second part of this paper will focus on criminological examination of places and critical locations of crime and provide situational preventive measures to deal with the situation. 'Crime displacement' and 'geographical distribution of benefits'are also considered as the possible consequences of implementing preventive strategies. The results of the study suggest that the inventory of offenses is distributed according to the spatial characteristics. Moreover, according to the criminological characteristics governing region or location, offenders choose the place of crime based on a logical calculation. Therefore, some locations, regions or neighborhoods are permanent places of occurring lots of crimes. As a result, considering "place", preventive measures and procedures can be systematically directed, and using the most effective ways, limited preventive resources are utilized in the most critical places. Finally, some suggestions for further research and application are provided in line with more favorable promotion of situational preventive measures.

Keywords: crime prevention, place, police crime, situational crime prevention

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Authors: Siphesihle Hlongwane

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Background: Globally, alcohol consumption, smoking, and the use of illicit drugs kill more than 11.8 million people each year. In sub-Saharan Africa, substance abuse is responsible for more than 6.4% of all deaths recorded and about 4.7% of all Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), with numbers still expected to grow if no drastic measures are taken to curb and address drug use. In a setting where substance use is rife, understanding contextual factors that influence an individual’s perceived eligibility to seek rehabilitation is paramount. Using the candidacy framework, we unpack how situational factors influence an individual’s perceived eligibility for healthcare uptake in adolescents and youth with substance use disorder (SUD). Methods: The candidacy framework is concerned with how people consider their eligibility for accessing a health service. The study collected and analyzed primary qualitative data to answer the research question. Data were collected between January and July 2022 on participants aged between 18 and 35 for drug users and 18 to 60 for family members. Participants include 20 previous and current drug users and 20 family members that experience the effects of addiction. A pre-drafted semi-structured interview guide was administered to a conveniently sampled population supplemented with a referral sampling method. Data were thematically analyzed using the NVivo 12pro software to manage the data. Findings: Our findings show that people with substance use disorders are aware of their drug use habits and acknowledge their candidacy for health services. Candidacy for health services is also acknowledged by those around them, such as family members and peers, and as such, information on the navigation of health services for drug users is shared by those who have attended health services, those affected by drug use, and this includes health service research by family members to identify accessible health services. While participants reported willingness to quit drug use if assistance is provided, the permeability of health care services is hindered by both individual determinations to quit drug use from long-time use and the availability of health services for drug users, such as rehabilitation centers. Our findings also show that drug users are conscious and can articulate their ailments; however, the hunt for the next dose of drugs and long waiting cues for health service acquisition overshadows their claim to health services. Participants reported a mixture of treatments prescribed, with some more gruesome than others prescribed, thus serving as both a facilitator and barrier for health service uptake. Despite some unorthodox forms of treatments prescribed in health care, the majority of those who enter treatment complete the process of treatment, although some are met with setbacks and sometimes relapse after treatment has finished. Conclusion: Drug users are able to ascertain their candidacy for health services; however, individual and environmental characteristics relating to drug use hinder the use of health services. Drug use interventions need to entice health service uptake as a way to improve candidacy for health use.

Keywords: substance use disorder, rehabilitation, drug use, relapse, South Africa, candidacy framework

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Authors: Wanwimon Mekwimon

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Drug addiction is a serious problem in Thailand which has occurred continuously and repeatedly and enormously impacting health and economy of drug users. The indigenous wisdom and folk medicine is an attractive alternative choice, especially in detoxification and rehabilitation period. There are two objectives: First is to study about rehabilitation process and the curing for drug eaters and 2nd is to investigate the effectiveness of the curing and rehabilitation process by indigenous wisdom at Tamkrabok monastery, Pra-Puttabat district, Saraburi province. The main informants are 10 curers, 15 patients and 17 after-1-year rehabilitators. In the process, the semi-structured questionnaire is administered, the data are analyzed and proved by triangulation. The curing and rehabilitation process which use herbal remedies has a period of 15 days (5 days for detoxification and 10 days for recovery period) and the occupational training and self-consciousness awakening were delivered. The follow-up process includes twice-a-month recall for 6 months, follow-up letters and in depth interview with their families. The outcome of 1 year post-treatment was 94% (16 from 17). There are many reasons for not relapsing: the recovering patients have drawn on their inner strength, self-awareness and coping skill as well as their family and social support while rehabilitation process which includes difficulties in contacting with family members. They can void themselves from high risk situations to relapse. Recommendations: The follow-up system should be improved for continuous quality improvement, there should be the qualification standard for herbal remedies and the comparison among rehabilitation process of Tamkrabok and another methods are to be guideline for the further development.

Keywords: rehabilitation, drug addiction, Thai indigenous knowledge, herbal remedies

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Authors: Susmita Roy, Madhavan Nallani

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In recent years' polymersomes, self-assembled polymeric vesicles emerge from block copolymers, have been widely investigated due to their enhance stability and unique advantageous properties compared to their phospholipid counterpart, liposomes, dendrimers, and micelles. It provides a distinctive platform for advanced therapeutics and the creation of complex (bio) catalytically active systems for research in Nanomedicine and synthetic biology. Inspired by nature, where compartmentalization of biological components is all ubiquitous, we are interested in developing a platform technology of self-assembled multifunctional compartments with applications in areas from targeted drug/gene delivery, biosensing, pharmaceutical to cosmetics. Polymersome surfaces can be a proper choice of derivatization with a controlled amount of functional groups. To achieve site-specific targeting of polymersomes, biological recognition motives can be attached to the polymersomes surface by standard bioconjugation techniques, (like esterification, amidation, thiol-maleimide coupling, click-chemistry routes or other coupling methods). Herein, we are developing easy going, one-step bioconjugation strategies for site-specific surface functionalized biodegradable polymeric and/or polymer-lipid hybrid vesicles for targeted drug delivery. Biodegradable polymer, polycaprolactone-b-polyethylene glycol (PCL-PEG), polylactic acid-b-polyethylene glycol (PLA-PEG) and phospholipid, 1-palmitoyl-2- oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) has been widely used for numerous vesicle formulations. Some of these drug-loaded formulations are being tested on mice for controlled release. These surface functionalized polymersomes are also appropriate for membrane protein reconstitution/insertion, antibodies conjugation and various bioconjugation with diverse targeted molecules for controlled drug delivery.

Keywords: drug delivery, membrane protein, polymersome, surface modification

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Authors: Naima Bouslah, Leila Bounabi, Farid Ouazib, Nabila Haddadine

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Conventional release dosage forms are known to provide an immediate release of the drug. Controlling the rate of drug release from polymeric matrices is very important for a number of applications, particularly in the pharmaceutical area. Hydrogels are polymers in three-dimensional network arrangement, which can absorb and retain large amounts of water without dissolution. They have been frequently used to develop controlled released formulations for oral administration because they can extend the duration of drug release and thus reduce dose to be administrated improving patient compliance. Tramadol is an opioid pain medication used to treat moderate to moderately severe pain. When taken as an immediate-release oral formulation, the onset of pain relief usually occurs within about an hour. In the present work, we synthesized pH-responsive hydrogels of (hydroxyl ethyl methacrylate-co-acrylic acid), (HEMA-AA) for control drug delivery of tramadol in the gastro-intestinal tractus. The hydrogels with different acrylic acid content, were synthesized by free radical polymerization and characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, X ray diffraction analysis (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA). FTIR spectroscopy has shown specific hydrogen bonding interactions between the carbonyl groups of the hydrogels and hydroxyl groups of tramadol. Both the XRD and DSC studies revealed that the introduction of tramadol in the hydrogel network induced the amorphization of the drug. The swelling behaviour, absorptive kinetics and the release kinetics of tramadol in simulated gastric fluid (pH 1.2) and in simulated intestinal fluid (pH 7.4) were also investigated. The hydrogels exhibited pH-responsive behavior in the swelling study. The (HEMA-AA) hydrogel swelling was much higher in pH =7.4 medium. The tramadol release was significantly increased when pH of the medium was changed from simulated gastric fluid (pH 1.2) to simulated intestinal fluid (pH 7.4). Using suitable mathematical models, the apparent diffusional coefficients and the corresponding kinetic parameters have been calculated.

Keywords: biopolymres, drug delivery, hydrogels, tramadol

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Authors: Sutapa Mondal Roy, Suban K. Sahoo

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The primary aim of this work is to synthesis silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) through environmentally benign routes to avoid any chemical toxicity related undesired side effects. The nanoparticles were stabilized with drug ciprofloxacin (Cp) and were studied for their effectiveness as drug delivery agent. Targeted drug delivery improves the therapeutic potential of drugs at the diseased site as well as lowers the overall dose and undesired side effects. The small size of nanoparticles greatly facilitates the transport of active agents (drugs) across biological membranes and allows them to pass through the smallest capillaries in the body that are 5-6 μm in diameter, and can minimize possible undesired side effects. AgNPs are non-toxic, inert, stable, and has a high binding capacity and thus can be considered as biomaterials. AgNPs were synthesized from the nutrient broth supernatant after the culture of environment-friendly bacteria Bacillus subtilis. The AgNPs were found to show the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) band at 425 nm. The Cp capped Ag nanoparticles formation was complete within 30 minutes, which was confirmed from absorbance spectroscopy. Physico-chemical nature of the AgNPs-Cp system was confirmed by Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) etc. The AgNPs-Cp system size was found to be in the range of 30-40 nm. To monitor the kinetics of drug release from the surface of nanoparticles, the release of Cp was carried out by careful dialysis keeping AgNPs-Cp system inside the dialysis bag at pH 7.4 over time. The drug release was almost complete after 30 hrs. During the drug delivery process, to understand the AgNPs-Cp system in a better way, the sincere theoretical investigation is been performed employing Density Functional Theory. Electronic charge transfer, electron density, binding energy as well as thermodynamic properties like enthalpy, entropy, Gibbs free energy etc. has been predicted. The electronic and thermodynamic properties, governed by the AgNPs-Cp interactions, indicate that the formation of AgNPs-Cp system is exothermic i.e. thermodynamically favorable process. The binding energy and charge transfer analysis implies the optimum stability of the AgNPs-Cp system. Thus, the synthesized Cp-Ag nanoparticles can be effectively used for biological purposes due to its environmentally benign routes of synthesis procedures, which is clean, biocompatible, non-toxic, safe, cost-effective, sustainable and eco-friendly. The Cp-AgNPs as biomaterials can be successfully used for drug delivery procedures due to slow release of drug from nanoparticles over a considerable period of time. The kinetics of the drug release show that this drug-nanoparticle assembly can be effectively used as potential tools for therapeutic applications. The ease of synthetic procedure, lack of possible chemical toxicity and their biological activity along with excellent application as drug delivery agent will open up vista of using nanoparticles as effective and successful drug delivery agent to be used in modern days.

Keywords: silver nanoparticles, ciprofloxacin, density functional theory, drug delivery

Procedia PDF Downloads 386

Authors: Seyedeh Faranak Baniahmad, Soroor Yousefi

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Osteoporosis is a bone disease which increases the bone fracture risk, reduces the bone mineral density (BMD) and alters the amount and variety of proteins in bones. Antiresorptive therapy is one the most popular Osteoporosis treatment methods. In this method the bisphosphonates, hormones, calcitonin or the selective estrogen receptor modulators is replaced. In order to reduce undesirable effects and to increase the bioavailability of drug agents, the controlled drug delivery systems have been utilized. In current study, the controlled release of Alendronate from LDH-PCL with (0, 5, 10, 15 % wt. of LDH) was investigated. The results showed that the release of alendronate from the lamellar LDH incorporated into the PCL matrix is much slower than the release of alendronate from the PCL. Therefore such systems are very promising, in which the antiresorptive drug has to remain in the matrix for longer time and can be released in controlled manner.

Keywords: osteoporosis, alendronate, poly (ε–caprolactone), layered double hydroxide

Procedia PDF Downloads 394

Authors: Jungkyun Im

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Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are effective for relieving pain and reducing inflammation. They are nonselective inhibitors of two isoforms of COX, cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and thereby inhibiting the production of hormone-like lipid compounds such as, prostaglandins and thromboxanes which cause inflammation, pain, fever, platelet aggregation, etc. In addition, recently there are many research articles reporting the neuroprotective effect of NSAIDs in neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, the clinical use of NSAIDs in these diseases is limited by low brain distribution. Therefore, in order to assist the in-depth investigation on the pharmaceutical mechanism of flurbiprofen in neuroprotection and to make flurbiprofen a more potent drug to prevent or alleviate neurodegenerative diseases, delivery of flurbiprofen to brain should be effective and sufficient amount of flurbiprofen must penetrate the BBB thus gaining access into the patient’s brain. We have recently developed several types of guanidine-rich molecular carriers with high molecular weights and good water solubility that readily cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and display efficient distributions in the mouse brain. The G8 (having eight guanidine groups) molecular carrier based on D-sorbitol was found to be very effective in delivering anticancer drugs to a mouse brain. In the present study, employing the same molecular carrier, we prepared the flurbiprofen conjugate and studied its BBB permeation by mouse tissue distribution study. Flurbiprofen was attached to a molecular carrier with a fluorescein probe and multiple terminal guanidiniums. The conjugate was found to internalize into live cells and readily cross the BBB to enter the mouse brain. Our novel synthetic flurbiprofen conjugate will hopefully delivery NSAIDs into brain, and is therefore applicable to the neurodegenerative diseases treatment or prevention.

Keywords: flurbiprofen, drug delivery, molecular carrier, organic synthesis

Procedia PDF Downloads 231

Authors: Tanvir Ahmed, Thanh N. Long, Phan T. Huong, Donald E. Stewart

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This paper presents views on condom use and the contexts of safe and unsafe sexual practices with different sexual partners and their relationships among Injecting Drug Users (IDUs) in Hai Phong, Vietnam. Fifteen IDUs participated and two local interviewers conducted qualitative semi-structured face-to-face interviews in September-October, 2012 in Vietnamese language. Data were analyzed thematically. Non-protective condom attitudes include negotiate or convince Female Sex Workers (FSW); not realizing risk, importance or necessity; partner doesn’t like, and having extra money/drug from clients. On the other hand, self-awareness, family-consciousness, suspicion of STI presence, fear of getting HIV, and client negotiation sometimes resulted in a safe-sex practice. A thematic diagram was developed to present the relationship (strong/weak) between condom attitude and sexual practice (safe/unsafe) by partner types. The experiences and views reflected in the qualitative information emphasize the heightened need for safe-sex education especially among young IDUs (male/female) highlighting sexual transmission risk.

Keywords: AIDS, HIV, injecting drug user, risk behaviors, Vietnam

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Authors: Peramachi Sathiyamoorthy, Jacop Gopas, Avi Golan Goldhirsh

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Corchorus olitorius is a leafy vegetable and an industrial crop. The herb has antioxidant, anti inflammatory, and anti-cancer properties. To assay the pharmaceutical properties, aqueous extracts of leaves and seeds from C. olitorius were tested against drug resistant melanoma cell line. The test showed LC50 of the extract was 0.08µg/ml. Aqueous seed extract exhibited higher melanoma inhibiting activity than leaf extract. Dialysis of seed extract showed that the active compound is less than 12 KDa. The compound with <3 KDa MW separated by microconcentration of seed extract showed 70.5 % inhibition of melanoma cell growth. Among the two fractions obtained by Gel filtration with G10 column, the first fraction at 1:2000 dilutions exhibited 100% inhibition of melanoma growth. The compound with Rf value 0.86 (MA4) isolated by TLC separation showed about 98% cytotoxicity against melanoma at 1: 1000 dilutions. Furthermore, HPLC separation of MA4 compound with Superdex 75 column resulted in 4 compounds. Out of 4, one compound showed melanoma inhibition. The active compound is identified by reagent methods as Strophanthidin. Further toxicological and clinical studies will lead to the development of a potential drug to treat drug resistant melanoma.

Keywords: corchorus olitorius, melanoma, drug development, strophanthidin

Procedia PDF Downloads 131

Authors: Fujia Yang

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Alongside technological innovation, the current “double reduction” policy and English Curriculum Standards for Compulsory Education in China both emphasise and encourage appropriately integrating educational technologies into the classroom. Therefore, schools are increasingly using digital means to engage students in English reading, but the impact of such technologies on Chinese pupils’ reading achievement remains unclear. To serve as a reference for reforming English reading education in primary schools under the double reduction policy, this study investigates the effects and primary influencing factors of a specific reading programme, Accelerated Reader (AR), on Chinese primary school students’ reading achievement. A quantitative online survey was used to collect 37 valid questionnaires from teachers, and the results demonstrate that, from teachers’ perspectives, the AR program seemed to positively affect students’ reading achievement by recommending material at the appropriate reading levels and developing students’ reading habits. Although the reading enjoyment derived from the AR program does not directly influence students’ reading achievement, these factors are strongly correlated. This can be explained by the self-paced, independent learning AR format, its high accuracy in predicting reading level, the quiz format and external motivation, and the importance of examinations and resource limitations in China. The results of this study may support reforming English reading education in Chinese primary schools.

Keywords: educational technology, reading programme, primary students, accelerated reader, reading effects

Procedia PDF Downloads 85