Search results for: drug of abuse

Authors: Samia A. El-Fiky, Fouad A. Abou-Zaid, Ibrahim M. Farag, Naira M. El-Fiky

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Clomipramine hydrochloride is one of the most used tricyclic antidepressant drug in Egypt. This drug contains in its chemical structure on two benzene rings. Benzene is considered to be toxic and clastogenic agent. So, the present study was designed to assess the genotoxic effect of Clomipramine hydrochloride on somatic and germ cells in mice. Three dose levels 0.195 (Low), 0.26 (Medium), and 0.65 (High) mg/kg.b.wt. were used. Seven groups of male mice were utilized in this work. The first group was employed as a control. In the remaining six groups, each of the above doses was orally administrated for two groups, one of them was treated for 5 days and the other group was given the same dose for 30 days. At the end of experiments, the animals were sacrificed for cytogenetic and sperm examination as well as histopathological investigations by using hematoxylin and eosin stains (H and E stains) and electron microscope. Concerning the sperm studies, these studies were confined to 5 days treatment with different dose levels. Moreover, the ultrastructural investigation by electron microscope was restricted to 30 days treatment with drug doses. The results of the dose dependent effect of Clomipramine showed that the treatment with three different doses induced increases of frequencies of chromosome aberrations in bone marrow and spermatocyte cells as compared to control. In addition, mitotic and meiotic activities of somatic and germ cells were declined. The treatments with medium or high doses were more effective for inducing significant increases of chromosome aberrations and significant decreases of cell divisions than treatment with low dose. The effect of high dose was more pronounced for causing such genetic deleterious in respect to effect of medium dose. Moreover, the results of the time dependent effect of Clomipramine observed that the treatment with different dose levels for 30 days led to significant increases of genetic aberrations than treatment for 5 days. Sperm examinations revealed that the treatment with Clomipramine at different dose levels caused significant increase of sperm shape abnormalities and significant decrease in sperm count as compared to control. The adverse effects on sperm shape and count were more obviousness by using the treatments with medium or high doses than those found in treatment with low dose. The group of mice treated with high dose had the highest rate of sperm shape abnormalities and the lowest proportion of sperm count as compared to mice received medium dose. In histopathological investigation, hematoxylin and eosin stains showed that, the using of low dose of Clomipramine for 5 or 30 days caused a little pathological changes in liver tissue. However, using medium and high doses for 5 or 30 days induced severe damages than that observed in mice treated with low dose. The treatment with high dose for 30 days gave the worst results of pathological changes in hepatic cells. Moreover, ultrastructure examination revealed, the mice treated with low dose of Clomipramine had little differences in liver histological architecture as compared to control group. These differences were confined to cytoplasmic inclusions. Whereas, prominent pathological changes in nuclei as well as dilated of rough Endoplasmic Reticulum (rER) were observed in mice treated with medium or high doses of Clomipramine drug. In conclusion, the present study adds evidence that treatments with medium or high doses of Clomipramine have genotoxic effects on somatic and germ cells of mice, as unwanted side effects. However, the using of low dose (especially for short time, 5 days) can be utilized as a therapeutic dose, where it caused relatively similar proportions of genetic, sperm, and histopathological changes as those found in normal control.

Keywords: chromosome aberrations, clomipramine, mice, histopathology, sperm abnormalities

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Authors: Debraj Gangopadhyay, Moumita Das, Ranjan K. Singh, Poonam Tandon

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Creatinine is a toxic chemical waste generated from muscle metabolism. Abnormally high levels of creatinine in the body fluid indicate possible malfunction or failure of the kidneys. This leads to a condition termed as creatinine induced nephrotoxicity. N-acetylcysteine is an antioxidant drug which is capable of preventing creatinine induced nephrotoxicity and is helpful to treat renal failure in its early stages. Taurine is another antioxidant drug which serves similar purpose. The kidneys have a natural power that whenever reactive oxygen species radicals increase in the human body, the kidneys make an antioxidant shell so that these radicals cannot harm the kidney function. Taurine plays a vital role in increasing the power of that shell such that the glomerular filtration rate can remain in its normal level. Thus taurine protects the kidneys against several diseases. However, taurine also has some negative effects on the body as its chloramine derivative is a weak oxidant by nature. N-acetylcysteine is capable of inhibiting the residual oxidative property of taurine chloramine. Therefore, N-acetylcysteine is given to a patient along with taurine and this combination is capable of suppressing the negative effect of taurine. Both N-acetylcysteine and taurine being affordable, safe, and widely available medicines, knowledge of the mechanism of their combined effect on creatinine, the favored route of administration, and the proper dose may be highly useful in their use for treating renal patients. Raman spectroscopy is a precise technique to observe minor structural changes taking place when two or more molecules interact. The possibility of formation of a complex between a drug molecule and an analyte molecule in solution can be explored by analyzing the changes in the Raman spectra. The formation of a stable complex of creatinine with N-acetylcysteinein vitroin aqueous solution has been observed with the help of Raman spectroscopic technique. From the Raman spectra of the mixtures of aqueous solutions of creatinine and N-acetylcysteinein different molar ratios, it is observed that the most stable complex is formed at 1:1 ratio of creatinine andN-acetylcysteine. Upon drying, the complex obtained is gel-like in appearance and reddish yellow in color. The complex is hygroscopic and has much better water solubility compared to creatinine. This highlights that N-acetylcysteineplays an effective role in reducing the toxic effect of creatinine by forming this water soluble complex which can be removed through urine. Since the drug taurine is also known to be useful in reducing nephrotoxicity caused by creatinine, the aqueous solution of taurine with those of creatinine and N-acetylcysteinewere mixed in different molar ratios and were investigated by Raman spectroscopic technique. It is understood that taurine itself does not undergo complexation with creatinine as no additional changes are observed in the Raman spectra of creatinine when it is mixed with taurine. However, when creatinine, N-acetylcysteine and taurine are mixed in aqueous solution in molar ratio 1:1:3, several changes occurring in the Raman spectra of creatinine suggest the diminishing toxic effect of creatinine in the presence ofantioxidant drugs N-acetylcysteine and taurine.

Keywords: creatinine, creatinine induced nephrotoxicity, N-acetylcysteine, taurine

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Authors: Sue S. Feldman, Bradley Tipper, Benjamin Schooley

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Nearly every community in the US has been impacted by opioid related addictions/deaths; it is a national problem that is threatening our social and economic welfare. Most believe that tackling this problem from a prevention perspective advances can be made toward breaking the chain of addiction. One mechanism, community based participatory research, involves the community in the prevention approach. This project combines that approach with a design science approach to develop an integrated solution. Findings suggested accountable care communities, transpersonal psychology, and social exchange theory as product kernel theories. Evaluation was conducted on a prototype.

Keywords: substance use and abuse recovery, community resource centers, accountable care communities, community based participatory research

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Authors: Neha Farid

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Due to the abuse of antimicrobial medications in animal feed, the occurrence of multi-drug resistant (MDR) pathogens in foods is currently a growing public health concern on a global scale. MDR infections have the potential to penetrate the food chain by posing a serious risk to both consumers and animals. Food pathogens are those biological agents that have the tendency to cause pathogenicity in the host body upon ingestion. The major reservoirs of foodborne pathogens include food-producing fauna like cows, pigs, goats, sheep, deer, etc. The intestines of these animals are highly condensed with several different types of food pathogens. Bacterial food pathogens are the main cause of foodborne disease in humans; almost 66% of the reported cases of food illness in a year are caused by the infestation of bacterial food pathogens. When ingested, these pathogens reproduce and survive or form different kinds of toxins inside host cells causing severe infections. The genus Listeria consists of gram-positive, rod-shaped, non-spore-forming bacteria. The disease caused by Listeria monocytogenes is listeriosis or gastroenteritis, which induces fever, vomiting, and severe diarrhea in the affected body. Campylobacter jejuni is a gram-negative, curved-rod-shaped bacteria causing foodborne illness. The major source of Campylobacter jejuni is livestock and poultry; particularly, chicken is highly colonized with Campylobacter jejuni. Serious public health concerns include the widespread growth of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics and the slowing in the discovery of new classes of medicines. The objective of this study is to provide some potential antibacterial activities with certain broad-range antibiotics and our desired bacteriocins, i.e., Enterococcus faecium from specific strains preventing microbial contamination pathways in order to safeguard the food by lowering food deterioration, contamination, and foodborne illnesses. The food pathogens were isolated from various sources of dairy products and meat samples. The isolates were tested for the presence of Listeria and Campylobacter by gram staining and biochemical testing. They were further sub-cultured on selective media enriched with the growth supplements for Listeria and Campylobacter. All six strains of Listeria and Campylobacter were tested against ten antibiotics. Campylobacter strains showed resistance against all the antibiotics, whereas Listeria was found to be resistant only against Nalidixic Acid and Erythromycin. Further, the strains were tested against the two bacteriocins isolated from Enterococcus faecium. It was found that bacteriocins showed better antimicrobial activity against food pathogens. They can be used as a potential antimicrobial for food preservation. Thus, the study concluded that natural antimicrobials could be used as alternatives to synthetic antimicrobials to overcome the problem of food spoilage and severe food diseases.

Keywords: food pathogens, listeria, campylobacter, antibiotics, bacteriocins

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Authors: Oscar E. Cariceo

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In Chile, there is a lack of evidence about the impact of polyvictimization on the emergence of suicidal thoughts among children and young people. Thus, this study aims to explore the association between the episodes of polyvictimization suffered by Chilean children and young people and the manifestation of signs related to suicidal tendencies. To achieve this purpose, secondary data from the First Polyvictimization Survey on Children and Adolescents of 2017 were analyzed, and a binomial logistic regression model was applied to establish the probability that young people are experiencing suicidal ideation episodes. The main findings show that women between the ages of 13 and 15 years, who are in seventh grade and second in subsidized schools, are more likely to express suicidal ideas, which increases if they have suffered different types of victimization, particularly physical violence, psychological aggression, and sexual abuse.

Keywords: Chile, polyvictimization, suicidal ideation, youth

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Authors: Maryam Shayani Rad, Seyed Ahmad Mohajeri, Mohsen Mouhebati, Seyed Danial Mousavi

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High blood pressure is one of the most important and serious health-threatening because of no symptoms in most people, which can lead to sudden heart attack, heart failure, and stroke. Nowadays, herbal medicine is one of the best and safest strategies for treatment that have no adverse effects. Apium graveolens (celery) can be used as an alternative treatment for many health conditions such as hypertension. Natural compounds reduce blood pressure via different mechanisms in which Apium graveolens extract provides potent calcium channel blocking properties. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over clinical trial was done to evaluate the efficacy of formulated Apium graveolens extract with a maximum yield of 3-n-butylphthalide to reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure in patients with hypertension. 54 hypertensive patients in the range of 20-68 years old were randomly assigned to the treatment group (26 cases) and the placebo control group (26 cases) and were crossed over after washout duration. The treatment group received at least 2 grams of formulated powder in hard capsules orally, before each meal, 2 times daily. The control group received 2 grams of placebo in hard capsules orally, exactly as the same as shape, time, and doses of treatment group. Treatment was administrated in 12 weeks with 4 weeks washout period at the middle of the study, meaning 4 weeks drug consumption for the treatment group, 4 weeks washout and 4 weeks placebo consumption, and vice versa for the placebo control group. The clinical assessment was done 4 times, including at the beginning and ending of the drug and placebo consumption period by 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) holter, which measured blood pressure every 15 minutes continuously. There was a statistically significant decrease in both systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) at the end of drug duration compared to baseline. The changes after 4 weeks on average was about 12.34 mm Hg for the SBP (P < 0.005) and 7.83 mm Hg for the DBP (P < 0.005). The results from this clinical trial study showed this Apium graveolens extract formulation in the mentioned dosage had a significant effect on blood pressure-lowering for hypertensive patients.

Keywords: Apium graveolens extract, clinical trial, cross-over, hypertension

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Authors: Iva Blazkova, Amitava Moulick, Vedran Milosavljevic, Pavel Kopel, Marketa Vaculovicova, Vojtech Adam, Rene Kizek

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Doxorubicin is one of the most commonly used and the most effective chemotherapeutic drugs. This antracycline drug isolated from the bacteria Streptomyces peuceticus var. caesius is sold under the trade name Adriamycin (hydroxydaunomycin, hydroxydaunorubicin). Doxorubicin is used in single therapy to treat hematological malignancies (blood cancers, leukaemia, lymphoma), many types of carcinoma (solid tumors) and soft tissue sarcomas. It has many serious side effects like nausea and vomiting, hair lost, myelosupression, oral mucositis, skin reactions and redness, but the most serious one is the cardiotoxicity. Because of the risk of heart attack and congestive heart failure, the total dose administered to patients has to be accurately monitored. With the aim to lower the side effects and to targeted delivery of doxorubicin into the tumor tissue, the different nanoparticles are studied. The drug can be bound on a surface of nanoparticle, encapsulated in the inner cavity, or incorporated into the structure of nanoparticle. Among others, carbon nanoparticles (graphene, carbon nanotubes, fullerenes) are highly studied. Besides the number of inorganic nanoparticles, a great potential exhibit also organic ones mainly lipid-based and polymeric nanoparticle. The aim of this work was to perform a toxicity study of free doxorubicin compared to doxorubicin conjugated with various nanotransporters. The effect of liposomes, fullerenes, graphene, and carbon nanotubes on the toxicity was analyzed. As a first step, the binding efficacy of between doxorubicin and the nanotransporter was determined. The highest efficacy was detected in case of liposomes (85% of applied drug was encapsulated) followed by graphene, carbon nanotubes and fullerenes. For the toxicological studies, the chicken embryos incubated under controlled conditions (37.5 °C, 45% rH, rotation every 2 hours) were used. In 7th developmental day of chicken embryos doxorubicin or doxorubicin-nanotransporter complex was applied on the chorioallantoic membrane of the eggs and the viability was analyzed every day till the 17th developmental day. Then the embryos were extracted from the shell and the distribution of doxorubicin in the body was analyzed by measurement of organs extracts using laser induce fluorescence detection. The chicken embryo mortality caused by free doxorubicin (30%) was significantly lowered by using the conjugation with nanomaterials. The highest accumulation of doxorubicin and doxorubicin nanotransporter complexes was observed in the liver tissue

Keywords: doxorubicin, chicken embryos, nanotransporters, toxicity

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Authors: Robert Gilliland

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In any organization, a potential issue can arise and become a problem when management deviates from the standard norms set in the system development process of an IT system and the policies that pertain to it. In these instances, cybersecurity is a big challenge that organizations have to face in safeguarding the data that they generate and use. When a new idea, task, or process begins, specific standards must be followed, along with the policies and procedures that ensure the safeguard of data in the information system within the company. A good IT Strategy and Policy should have individuals who are in charge of overseeing the design, development, implementation, and auditing of these policies. Auditors are people who check to make sure that the issue conforms with the plan that is in place. Management has the ability through the role of the manager to potentially abuse power is given and to direct specific ideas, events, projects, and outcomes that are contrary to the vision or goals of the company.

Keywords: strategic policy, policy management, new policy, strategic planning

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Authors: Kitoholi V. Zhimo

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Unlike the cases of cases of homosexuals, haemophilic and or drug users in USA, France, Africa and other countries, in India the first case of HIV/AIDS was detected in heterosexual female sex workers (FSW) in Chennai in 1986. This image played an important role in understanding HIV/AIDS scenario in the country. Similar to popular and dominant metaphors on HIV/AIDS such as ‘gay plague’, ‘new cancer’, ‘lethal disease’, ‘slim disease’, ‘foreign disease’, ‘junkie disease’, etc. around the world, the social construction of the virus was largely attributed to women in India. It was established that women particularly sex workers are ‘carrier’ and ‘transmitter’ of virus and were categorised as High Risk Groups (HRG’s) alongside homosexuals, transgenders and injecting drug users. Recent literature reveals growing rate of HIV infection among housewives since 1997 which revolutionised public health scenario in India. This means shift from high risk group to general public through ‘bridge population’ encompassing long distance truckers and migrant labours who at the expense of their nature of work and mobility comes in contact with HRG’s and transmit the virus to the general public especially women who are confined to the domestic space. As HIV epidemic expands, married women in monogamous relationship/marriage stand highly susceptible to infection with limited control, right and access over their sexual and reproductive health and planning. In context of Nagaland, a small state in North-eastern part of India HIV/AIDS transmission through injecting drug use dominated the early scene of the epidemic. However, paradigm shift occurred with declining trend of HIV prevalence among injecting drug users (IDU’s) over the past years with the introduction of Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) and easy access/availability of syringes and injecting needles. Reflection on statistical data reveals that out of 36 states and union territories in India, the position of Nagaland in HIV prevalence among IDU’s has significantly dropped down from 6th position in 2003 to 16th position in 2017. The present face of virus in Nagaland is defined by (hetero) sexual mode of transmission which accounts for about 91% of as reported by Nagaland state AIDS control society (NSACS) in 2016 wherein young and married woman were found to be most affected leading to feminization of HIV/AIDS epidemic in the state. Thus, not only is HIV epidemic feminised but emerged victim to domestic violence which is more often accepted as normal part of heterosexual relationship. In the backdrop of these understanding, the present paper based on ethnographic fieldwork explores the plight, lived experiences and images of HIV+ve women with regard to sexual and reproductive rights against the backdrop of patriarchal system in Nagaland.

Keywords: HIV/AIDS, monogamy, Nagaland, sex worker disease, women

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Authors: Yiu K. C. Jacky, Tang S. K. Eric, W. Y. Tsang, C. Y. Li, C. K. Leung

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Objectives : (1) To enhance the competence of nurses on using IPMOE for drug administration; (2) To ensure the transition on implementation of IPMOE in safer and smooth way hospital-wide. Methodology: (1) Well-structured Governance: To make provision for IPMOE implementation, multidisciplinary governance structure at Corporate and Local levels are well established. (2) Staff Engagement: A series of staff engagement events were conducted including Staff Forum, IPMOE Hospital Visit, Kick-off Ceremony and establishment of IPMOE Webpage for familiarizing the forthcoming implementation with frontline staff. (3) Well-organized training program: from Workshop to Workplace Two different IPMOE training programs were tailor-made which aimed at introducing the core features of administration module. Fifty-five identical training classes and six train-the-trainer workshops were organized at 2-3Q 2015. Lending Scheme on IPMOE hardware for hands-on practicing was launched and further extended the training from workshop to workplace. (4) Standard Guidelines and Workflow: the related workflow and guidelines are developed which facilitates users to acquire the competence towards IPMOE and fully familiarize with the standardized contingency plan. (5) Facilities and Equipment: The installations of IPMOE hardware were promptly arranged for rollout. Besides, IPMOE training venue was well-established for staff training. (6) Risk Management Strategy: UCH Medication Safety Forum is organized in December 2015 for sharing “Tricks & Tips” on IPMOE which further disseminate at webpage for arousal of medication safety. Hospital-wide annual audit on drug administration was planned to figure out the compliance and deliberate the rooms for improvement. Results: Through the comprehensive training plan, over 1,000 UCH nurses attended the training program with positive feedback. They agreed that their competence on using IPMOE was enhanced. By the end of November 2015, 28 wards (over 1,000 Inpatient-bed) involving departments of M&G, SUR, O&T and O&G have been successfully rolled out IPMOE in 5-month. A smooth and safe transition of implementation of IPMOE was achieved. Eventually, we all get prepared for embedding IPMOE into daily nursing and work altogether for medication safety at UCH.

Keywords: drug administration, inpatient medication order entry system, medication safety, nursing informatics

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Authors: Manotar Tampubolon

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Although the Indonesian human rights protection has increased in recent years, but human rights violations still occur in the industrial sector. Crimes against human rights continue to occur and go unnoticed in spite of the government's legislation on human rights, employment law in addition to an international treaty that has been ratified by Indonesia. The increasing number of garment companies in Bekasi, also give rise to increased human rights violations since the government does not have a commitment to protect it. The Indonesian government and industry owners should pay attention to and protect the human rights of workers and treat them accordingly. This paper will review the human rights violations experienced by workers at garment factories in the context of the law, as well as ideas to improve the protection of workers' rights.

Keywords: human rights protection, human rights violations, workers’ rights, justice, security

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Authors: Bozena Tyliszczak, Anna Drabczyk, Sonia Kudlacik-Kramarczyk, Agnieszka Sobczak-Kupiec

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Introduction: Nanomaterials become one of the leading materials in the synthesis of various compounds. This is a reason for the fact that nano-size materials exhibit other properties compared to their macroscopic equivalents. Such a change in size is reflected in a change in optical, electric or mechanical properties. Among nanomaterials, particular attention is currently directed into gold nanoparticles. They find application in a wide range of areas including cosmetology or pharmacy. Additionally, nanogold may be a component of modern wound dressings, which antibacterial activity is beneficial in the viewpoint of the wound healing process. Specific properties of this type of nanomaterials result in the fact that they may also be applied in cancer treatment. Studies on the development of new techniques of the delivery of drugs are currently an important research subject of many scientists. This is due to the fact that along with the development of such fields of science as medicine or pharmacy, the need for better and more effective methods of administering drugs is constantly growing. The solution may be the use of drug carriers. These are materials that combine with the active substance and lead it directly to the desired place. A role of such a carrier may be played by gold nanoparticles that are able to covalently bond with many organic substances. This allows the combination of nanoparticles with active substances. Therefore gold nanoparticles are widely used in the preparation of nanocomposites that may be used for medical purposes with special emphasis on drug delivery. Methodology: As part of the presented research, synthesis of composites was carried out. The mentioned composites consisted of the polymer matrix and gold nanoparticles that were introduced into the polymer network. The synthesis was conducted with the use of a crosslinking agent, and photoinitiator and the materials were obtained by means of the photopolymerization process. Next, incubation studies were conducted using selected liquids that simulated fluids are occurring in the human body. The study allows determining the biocompatibility of the tested composites in relation to selected environments. Next, the chemical structure of the composites was characterized as well as their sorption properties. Conclusions: Conducted research allowed for the preliminary characterization of prepared polymer composites containing gold nanoparticles in the viewpoint of their application for biomedical use. Tested materials were characterized by biocompatibility in tested environments. What is more, synthesized composites exhibited relatively high swelling capacity that is essential in the viewpoint of their potential application as drug carriers. During such an application, composite swells and at the same time releases from its interior introduced active substance; therefore, it is important to check the swelling ability of such material. Acknowledgements: The authors would like to thank The National Science Centre (Grant no: UMO - 2016/21/D/ST8/01697) for providing financial support to this project. This paper is based upon work from COST Action (CA18113), supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology).

Keywords: nanocomposites, gold nanoparticles, drug carriers, swelling properties

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Authors: Atul Khurana, Rajul Rastogi, Hans-Joachim Gamperl

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The pharmaceutical companies are getting more inclined towards patient support programs (PSPs) which assist patients and/or healthcare professionals (HCPs) in more desirable disease management and cost-effective treatment. The utmost objective of these programs is patient care. The PSPs may include financial assistance to patients, medicine compliance programs, access to HCPs via phone or online chat centers, etc. The PSP has a crucial role in terms of customer acquisition and retention strategies. During the conduct of these programs, Marketing Authorisation Holder (MAH) may receive information related to concerned medicinal products, which is usually reported by patients or involved HCPs. This information may include suspected adverse reaction(s) during/after administration of medicinal products. Hence, the MAH should design PSP to comply with regulatory reporting requirements and avoid non-compliance during PV inspection. The emergence of wireless health devices is lowering the burden on patients to manually incorporate safety data, and building a significant option for patients to observe major swings in reference to drug safety. Therefore, to enhance the adoption of these programs, MAH not only needs to aware patients about advantages of the program, but also recognizes the importance of time of patients and commitments made in a constructive manner. It is indispensable that strengthening the public health is considered as the topmost priority in such programs, and the MAH is compliant to Pharmacovigilance (PV) requirements along with regulatory obligations.

Keywords: drug safety, good pharmacovigilance practice, patient support program, pharmacovigilance

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Authors: Hossein Navid, Maryam Adeli Khadem, Shahin Oustan, Mahmoud Zareie

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Among the nutrients needed by the plants, three elements containing nitrate, phosphorus and potassium are more important. The objective of this research was measuring these nutrient amounts in soil using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in range of 400- 4000 cm-1. Soil samples for different soil types (sandy, clay and loam) were collected from different areas of East Azerbaijan. Three types of fertilizers in conventional farming (urea, triple superphosphate, potassium sulphate) were used for soil treatment. Each specimen was divided into two categories: The first group was used in the laboratory (direct measurement) to extract nitrate, phosphorus and potassium uptake by colorimetric method of Olsen and ammonium acetate. The second group was used to measure drug absorption spectrometry. In spectrometry, the small amount of soil samples mixed with KBr and was taken in a small pill form. For the tests, the pills were put in the center of infrared spectrometer and graphs were obtained. Analysis of data was done using MINITAB and PLSR software. The data obtained from spectrometry method were compared with amount of soil nutrients obtained from direct drug absorption using EXCEL software. There were good fitting between these two data series. For nitrate, phosphorus and potassium R2 was 79.5%, 92.0% and 81.9%, respectively. Also, results showed that the range of MIR (mid-infrared) is appropriate for determine the amount of soil nitrate and potassium and can be used in future research to obtain detailed maps of land in agricultural use.

Keywords: nitrate, phosphorus, potassium, soil nutrients, spectroscopy

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Authors: Elochukwu A. Nwankwo, Matthias U. Agboeze

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Many heritage sites abound in the shores of Nigeria with enormous tourism potentials. Heritage sites do not only depict the cultural and historical transmutation of people but also functions in the image design and promotion of a locality. This reveals the unique role of heritage sites to structural development of an area. Heritage sites have of recent been a victim of degradation and social abuse arising from seasonal ignorance; hence minimizing its potentials to the socio-economic development of an area. This paper is emphasizing on the adoption of community development approaches in heritage preservation in Igbo area. Its modalities, applications, challenges and prospect were discussed. Such understanding will serve as a catalyst in aiding general restoration and preservation of heritage sites in Nigeria and other African states.

Keywords: heritage resources, community development, preservation, sustainable development, approaches

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Authors: Sheimah El Bejjaji, Lara Gorsek, Chandler Quilchez, Joaquim Suñer, Mireia Mallandrich

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Flurbiprofen is an anti-inflammatory drug used in several treatments. The purpose of this study was to compare the permeation of two different formulations of flurbiprofen through the human skin. The first formulation was a solution of flurbiprofen dissolved with polyethylene glycol 3350 (PEG 3350). The second formulation was flurbiprofen encapsulated in poly-ɛ-caprolactone (PɛCL) nanoparticles (NPs), stabilized with poloxamer 188, submitted individually for freeze-drying with PEG 3350 as a cryoprotectant and sterilized by gamma-irradiation. Human skin was obtained from the abdominal region of a healthy patient. The experimental protocol was approved by the Bioethics Committee of Barcelona SCIAS Hospital (Spain), and they obtained the written informed consent forms. After being frozen to -20ºC, the skin samples were cut with a dermatome at 400 µm. The ex vivo permeation study was performed in Franz diffusion cells with a diffusion area of 2.54 cm². Skin samples were placed between two compartment sites, the dermal side in contact with the receptor medium and the epidermis side in contact with the donor chamber to which the formulation was applied. The permeation study was conducted for 24 hours at 32 ± 0.5 °C in accordance with sink conditions. The results were analyzed with an unpaired t-test, and the p-values indicate the formulation with nanoparticles had a higher permeability coefficient, flux, partition parameter, diffusion parameter, and lag time. The applicability of this formulation topically can benefit articulations and ligament inflammation as an alternative to oral drugs.

Keywords: anti-inflammatory drug, flurbiprofen, human skin, nanoparticles, skin permeation

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Authors: K. Rawojć, J. Miszczyk, A. Możdżeń, A. Panek, J. Swakoń, M. Rydygier

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Due to the mitotic delay, poor mitotic index and disappearance of lymphocytes from peripheral blood circulation, assessing the DNA damage after high dose exposure is less effective. Conventional chromosome aberration analysis or cytokinesis-blocked micronucleus assay do not provide an accurate dose estimation or radiosensitivity prediction in doses higher than 6.0 Gy. For this reason, there is a need to establish reliable methods allowing analysis of biological effects after exposure in high dose range i.e., during particle radiotherapy. Lately, Premature Chromosome Condensation (PCC) has become an important method in high dose biodosimetry and a promising treatment modality to cancer patients. The aim of the study was to evaluate the usefulness of drug-induced PCC scoring procedure in an experimental mode, where 100 G2/M cells were analyzed in different dose ranges. To test the consistency of obtained results, scoring was performed by 3 independent persons in the same mode and following identical scoring criteria. Whole-body exposure was simulated in an in vitro experiment by irradiating whole blood collected from healthy donors with 60 MeV protons and 250 keV X-rays, in the range of 4.0 – 20.0 Gy. Drug-induced PCC assay was performed on human peripheral blood lymphocytes (HPBL) isolated after in vitro exposure. Cells were cultured for 48 hours with PHA. Then to achieve premature condensation, calyculin A was added. After Giemsa staining, chromosome spreads were photographed and manually analyzed by scorers. The dose-effect curves were derived by counting the excess chromosome fragments. The results indicated adequate dose estimates for the whole-body exposure scenario in the high dose range for both studied types of radiation. Moreover, compared results revealed no significant differences between scores, which has an important meaning in reducing the analysis time. These investigations were conducted as a part of an extended examination of 60 MeV protons from AIC-144 isochronous cyclotron, at the Institute of Nuclear Physics in Kraków, Poland (IFJ PAN) by cytogenetic and molecular methods and were partially supported by grant DEC-2013/09/D/NZ7/00324 from the National Science Centre, Poland.

Keywords: cell response to radiation exposure, drug induced premature chromosome condensation, premature chromosome condensation procedure, proton therapy

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Authors: Fatima U. Maigari, Musa Halilu, M. Maryam Umar, Rabiu Zainab

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Plants as therapeutic agents are used as drug in many parts of the world. Medicinal plants are mostly used in developing countries due to culture acceptability, belief or due to lack of easy access to primary health care services. Jatropha curcas is a plant from the Euphorbiaceae family which is widely used in Northern Nigeria as an anti-diarrheal agent. This study was conducted to determine the anti-diarrheal effect of the leaf extract on castor oil induced diarrhea in albino rats. The leaves of J. curcas were collected from Balanga Local government in Gombe State, north-eastern Nigeria; due to its bioavailability. The leaves were air-dried at room temperature and ground to powder. Phytochemical screening was done and different concentrations of the extract was prepared and administered to the different categories of experimental animals. From the results, aqueous leaf extract of Jatropha curcas at doses of 200mg/Kg and 400mg/Kg was found to reduce the mean stool score as compared to control rats, however, maximum reduction was achieved with the standard drug of Loperamide (5mg/Kg). Treatment of diarrhea with 200mg/Kg of the extract did not produce any significant decrease in stool fluid content but was found to be significant in those rats that were treated with 400mg/Kg of the extract at 2hours (0.05±0.02) and 4hours (0.01±0.01). A significant reduction of diarrhea in the experimental animals signifies it to possess some anti-diarrheal activity.

Keywords: anti-diarrhea, diarrhea, Jatropha curcas, loperamide

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Authors: Akshita Jindal, Renu Chadha, Maninder Karan

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Supramolecular chemistry has gained recent eminence in a flurry of research documents demonstrating the formation of new crystalline forms with potentially advantageous characteristics. Mesalamine (5-amino salicylic acid) belongs to anti-inflammatory class of drugs, is used to treat ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Unfortunately, mesalamine suffer from poor solubility and therefore very low bioavailability. This work is focused on preparation and characterization of cocrystal of mesalamine with nicotinamide (MNIC) a coformer of GRAS status. Cocrystallisation was achieved by solvent drop grinding in stoichiometric ratio of 1:1 using acetonitrile as solvent and was characterized by various techniques including DSC (Differential Scanning Calorimetry), PXRD (X-ray Powder Diffraction), and FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer). The co-crystal depicted single endothermic transitions (254°C) which were different from the melting peaks of both drug (288°C) and coformer (128°C) indicating the formation of a new solid phase. Different XRPD patterns and FTIR spectrums for the co-crystals from those of individual components confirms the formation of new phase. Enhancement in apparent solubility study and intrinsic dissolution study showed effectiveness of this cocrystal. Further improvement in pharmacokinetic profile has also been observed with 2 folds increase in bioavailability. To conclude, our results show that application of nicotinamide as a coformer is a viable approach towards the preparation of cocrystals of potential drug molecule having limited solubility.

Keywords: cocrystal, mesalamine, nicotinamide, solvent drop grinding

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Authors: Nehir Nebioglu

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Chemotherapy is widely used for the treatment of cancer. Doxorubicin is an anti-cancer chemotherapy drug that is classified as an anthracycline antibiotic. Antitumor antibiotics consist of natural products produced by species of the soil fungus Streptomyces. These drugs act in multiple phases of the cell cycle and are known cell-cycle specific. Although DOX is a precious clinical antineoplastic agent, resistance is also a problem that limits its utility besides cardiotoxicity problem. The drug resistance of cancer cells results from multiple factors including individual variation, genetic heterogeneity within a tumor, and cellular evolution. The mechanism of resistance is thought to involve, in particular, ABCB1 (MDR1, Pgp) and ABCC1 (MRP1) as well as other transporters. Several studies on DOX-resistant cell lines have shown that resistance can be overcome by an inhibition of ABCB1, ABCC1, and ABCC2. This study attempts to understand the effects of different concentration levels of glucose treatment and starvation on the proliferation of Doxorubicin resistant cancer cells lines. To understand the effect of starvation, K562/Dox and K562 cell lines were treated with 0, 5 nM, 50 nM, 500 nM, 5 uM and 50 uM Dox concentrations in both starvation and normal medium conditions. In addition to this, to interpret the effect of glucose treatment, different concentrations (0, 1 mM, 5 mM, 25 mM) of glucose were applied to Dox-treated (with 0, 5 nM, 50 nM, 500 nM, 5 uM and 50 uM) K562/Dox and K652 cell lines. All results show significant decreasing in the cell count of K562/Dox, when cells were starved. However, while proliferation of K562/Dox lines decrease is associated with the increasingly applied Dox concentration, K562/Dox starved ones remain at the same proliferation level. Thus, the results imply that an amount of K562/Dox lines gain starvation resistance and remain resistant. Furthermore, for K562/Dox, there is no clear effect of glucose treatment in terms of cell proliferation. In the presence of a moderate level of glucose (5 mM), proliferation increases compared to other concentration of glucose for each different Dox application. On the other hand, a significant increase in cell proliferation in moderate level of glucose is only observed in 5 uM Dox concentration. The moderate concentration level of Dox can be examined in further studies. For the high amount of glucose (25 mM), cell proliferation levels are lower than moderate glucose application. The reason could be high amount of glucose may not be absorbable by cells. Also, in the presence of low amount of glucose, proliferation is decreasing in an orderly manner of increase in Dox concentration. This situation can be explained by the glucose depletion -Warburg effect- in the literature.

Keywords: drug resistance, cancer cells, chemotherapy, doxorubicin

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Authors: Subrat Kumar Bhattamisra, Vivian Lee Yean Yan, Chin Koh Lee, Chew Hui Kuean, Yun Khoon Liew, Mayuren Candasamy

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Geraniol, an acyclic monoterpenoid is the main active constituent in the essential oils of rose and palmorosa. Antioxidant, antibacterial, anticancer and antiulcer activity of geraniol was reported by many researchers. The present investigation was designed to study in vivo antiulcer and anti-Helicobacter pylori activity of geraniol. Antiulcer and anti-H. pylori activity of geraniol was evaluated on acetic acid plus H. pylori induced ulcer in rats. Acetic acid (0.03 mL) was injected to the sub-serosal layer of the stomach through laparotomy under anaesthesia. Orogastric inoculation of H. pylori (ATCC 43504) was done twice daily for 7 days. Geraniol (15 and 30 mg/kg), vehicle and standard drugs (Amoxicillin, 50 mg/kg; clarithromycin, 25 mg/kg & omeprazole, 20 mg/kg) was administered twice daily for 14 days. Antiulcer activity of geraniol was examined by the determination of gastric ulcer index, measuring the volume of gastric juice, pH and total acidity, myeloperoxidase activity and histopathological examination. Histopathological investigation for the presence of inflammation, white blood cell infiltration, edema, the mucosal damage was studied. The presence of H. pylori was detected by placing a biopsy sample from antral part of the stomach into rapid urease test. Ulcer index in H. pylori inoculated control group was 4.13 ± 0.85 and was significantly (P < 0.05) lowered in geraniol (30 mg/kg) and reference drug treated group. Geraniol increase the pH of the gastric juice (2.18 ± 0.13 in control vs. 4.14 ± 0.57 in geraniol 30mg/kg) and lower total acidity significantly (P < 0.01) in geraniol (15 & 30 mg/kg). Myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity was measured in stomach homogenate of all the groups. H. pylori control group has significant (P < 0.05) increase in MPO activity compared to normal control group. Geraniol (30 mg/kg) was showed significant (P < 0.05) and most effective among all the groups. Histopathological examination of rat stomach was scored and the total score for H. pylori control group was 8. After geraniol (30 mg/kg) and reference drug treatment, the histopathological score was significantly decreased and it was observed to be 3.5 and 2.0 respectively. Percentage inhibition of H. pylori infection in geraniol (30 mg/kg) and reference drug were found to be 40% and 50% respectively whereas, 100% infection in H. pylori control group was observed. Geraniol exhibited significant antiulcer and anti- H. pylori activity in the rats. Thus, geraniol has the potential for the further development as an effective medication in treating H. pylori associated ulcer.

Keywords: geraniol, helicobacter pylori atcc 43504, myeloperoxidase, ulcer

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Authors: Akbar Esmaeili, Zahra Salarieh

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Cerium oxide nanoparticles (nano-series) are used as catalysts in industrial applications due to their free radical scavenging properties. Given that free radicals play an essential role in the pathology of many neurological diseases, we investigated the use of nanocrystals as a potential therapeutic agent for oxidative damage. This project synthesized nano-series from a new and environmentally friendly bio-pathway. Investigation of cerium nitrate in culture medium containing inoculated Lactobacillus acidophilus strain before incubation produces nano-series. Loaded with glatiramer acetate (GA) was formed by coating carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and CeO2. FE-SEM analysis showed nano-series in the 9-11 nm range, spherical shape, and uniform particle size distribution. Cubic nanoparticles containing anti-multiple sclerosis (anti-Ms) treatment called GA were used. Glycerol monostearate (GMS) was used as a fat base, and evening primrose extract was used as an anti-inflammatory in cubosomes. Design-Expert® software was used to study the effects of different formulation factors on the properties of GAloaded cubic dispersions. Thirty GA-labeled cubic dispersions were prepared with GA-labeled carboxymethylcellulose and evaluated in vitro. The results showed an average nano-series size of 89.02 and a zeta potential of -49.9. Cubosomes containing GA-CMC/CeO2 showed a stable release profile for 180 min. The results showed that cubosomes containing GA-CMC/CeO2 could be a promising drug carrier with normal release behavior.

Keywords: ciochemistry, biotechnology, molecular, biology

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Authors: Mazouzi Nourdjihane, K. Boutemak, A. Haddad, Y. Chegreouche

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In the last decades, biodegradable polymers have been considered as one of the most popular options for the delivery of drugs and various conventional doses. The film forming system (FFS) can be used in topical, transdermal, ophthalmic, oral and gastric applications. Recently this system has focused on improving drug delivery, which can promote drug release. In this context, the aim of this study is to create polymeric film-forming systems for the stomach and to evaluate and test their gastroprotective effects, comparing the effects of changes in composition on film characteristics. It uses a plant-derived polyphenol extract extracted from fennel to demonstrate anti-inflammatory activity in the film. The films are made from hydroxypropyl methylcellulose polymer and different types of plastic, glycerol and polyethylene glycol. The ffs properties show that MgO-glycerol-reinforced hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC-MgO-Gly) is better than that based on MgO-PEG-reinforced hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC-MgO-PEG). It is durable, has a faster drying time and allows for maximum recovery. Water vapor strength and blowing speed and other additions show another advantage of HPMC-MgO-Gly compared to HPMC-MgO-PEG, indicating good adhesion between the support (top) and film production. In this study, the gastroprotective effect of fennel phenol extract was found, showing that this plant material has a gastroprotective effect on ulcers and that the film can absorb the active substance.

Keywords: film formin system, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, magnesium oxide, in vivo

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Authors: Elena Chernyak

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The status of Russian women has changed dramatically over the course of Russian history and under different leadership and economic, political, and social conditions. The perception of women, their submissive roles, and low social status cause gender conflict that affects society: demographical issues, increased numbers of divorces, alcoholism, drug abuse, and crime. Despite the fact that around the world women are becoming more independent, protected by law, and play more important roles in society, Russian women are still dependent on men financially, socially, and psychologically. This paper critically explores the experience of Russian women over the course of over a thousand year of Russian history and how the position and image of women changed in Russian Empire, Soviet and post-Soviet Russia and what role women play in contemporary Russia. This paper is a result of deep examination of historical and religious literature, mass media, internet sources, and documents. This analysis shows that throughout history, the role and image of women in society have repeatedly varied depending on ideological and social conditions. In particular, the history of Russian women may be divided into five main periods. The first was the period of paganism, when almost all areas of life were open for women and when women were almost equal in social roles with men. During the second period, starting with the beginning of the Mongol invasion in the 13th century, the position of women was diminishing due to social transformation to the patriarchal society in which women started playing subordinate role in family and society. The third period – the period from the fourteenth through the sixteenth centuries - is a period of the total seclusion of Russian women from each part of social life. The fourth, Soviet period started after the Revolution of 1917. During that time, the position of women was drastically changed due to the transformation of traditional gender roles under the Bolshevik government. Woman's role was seen as worker-mothers who had a double duty: a worker and a mother. The final period began after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The restructuring (Perestroika) and post-Restructuring periods have had contradictory consequences and tremendous impact on Russian society. The image of women as partners and equal to men, which was promoted during the Soviet regime, has been replaced with the traditional functionalist views on family and the role of women, in which men and women have different but supposedly complementary roles. Modern Russia, despite publicly stating its commitment to equal rights, during last two decades has been reverting to an older social model with its emphasis on traditional gender roles, patriarchal ideas of dominant masculinity, and adverse attitudes to women, which are further supported and reinforced by the reviving Russian Orthodox Church. As demonstrated in this review, Russian women have never possessed the same rights as men and have always been subordinate to men. During all period of Russian history, patriarchal ideology maintained and reinforced in Russian society has always subjected women to manipulation, oppression, and victimization and portrayed women as not a ‘full human being’.

Keywords: women, Russia, patriarchy, religion, Russian Orthodox Church

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Authors: Yousef M. Abouzeed A. Elfahem, F. Zgheel, M. A. Saad, Mohamed O. Ahmed

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The bioactive properties of phytochemicals indicate their potential as natural drug products to prevent and treat human disease; in particular, compounds with antioxidant and antimicrobial activities may represent a novel class of safe and effective drugs. Following desiccation, grapes (Vitis vinifera) become more resistant to microbial-based degradation, suggesting that raisins may be a source of antimicrobial compounds. To investigate this hypothesis, total phenolic extracts were obtained from common raisins, local market-sourced. The acetone extract was tested for antibacterial activity against four prevalent bacterial pathogens (Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella spp. and Escherichia coli). Antibiotic sensitivity and the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) were determined for each bacterium. High performance liquid chromatography was used to identify compounds in the total phenolic extract. The raisin phenolic extract inhibited growth of all the tested bacteria; the greatest inhibitive effect (normalized to cefotaxime sodium control antibiotic) occurred against P. aeruginosa, followed by S. aureus > Salmonella spp.= E. coli. The phenolic extracts contained the bioactive compounds catechin, quercetin, and rutin. Thus, phytochemicals in raisin extract have antibacterial properties; this plant-based extract, or its bioactive constituents, may represent a promising natural preservative or antimicrobial agent for the food industry or anti-infective drug.

Keywords: Vitis vinifera raisin, extraction, phenolic compounds, antibacterial activity

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Authors: Abhijit Trailokya, Kamlesh Patel

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Background: Hypertension is a common disease seen in clinical practice and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Many patients require combination therapy for the management of hypertension. Objective: To evaluate co-morbidities, risk factors and management practices of hypertension in Indian population. Material and methods: A total of 1596 hypertensive adult patients received anti-hypertensive medications were studied in a cross-sectional, multi-centric, non-interventional, observational registry. Statistical analysis: Categories or nominal data was expressed as numbers with percentages. Continuous variables were analyzed by descriptive statistics using mean, SD, and range Chi square test was used for in between group comparison. Results: The study included 73.50% males and 26.50% females. Overweight (50.50%) and obesity (30.01%) was common in the hypertensive patients (n=903). A total of 54.76% patients had history of smoking. Alcohol use (33.08%), sedentary life style (32.96%) and history of tobacco chewing (17.92%) were the other lifestyle habits of hypertensive patients. Diabetes (36.03%) and dyslipidemia (39.79%) history was common in these patients. Family history of hypertension and diabetes was seen in 82.21% and 45.99% patients respectively. Most (89.16%) patients were treated with combination of antihypertensive agents. ARBs were the by far most commonly used agents (91.98%) followed by calcium channel blockers (68.23%) and diuretics (60.21%). ARB was the most (80.35%) preferred agent as monotherapy. ARB was also the most common agent as a component of dual therapy, four drug and five drug combinations. Conclusion: Most of the hypertensive patients need combination treatment with antihypertensive agents. ARBs are the most preferred agents as monotherapy for the management of hypertension. ARBs are also very commonly used as a component of combination therapy during hypertension management.

Keywords: antihypertensive, hypertension, management, ARB

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Authors: J. Roberto Lopez, Hened Saade, Graciela Morales, Javier Enriquez, Raul G. Lopez

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Implementation of systems based on nanostructures for drug delivery applications have taken relevance in recent studies focused on biomedical applications. Although there are several nanostructures as drugs carriers, the use of polymeric nanoparticles (PNP) has been widely studied for this purpose, however, the main issue for these nanostructures is the size control below 50 nm with a narrow distribution size, due to they must go through different physiological barriers and avoid to be filtered by kidneys (< 10 nm) or the spleen (> 100 nm). Thus, considering these and other factors, it can be mentioned that drug-loaded nanostructures with sizes varying between 10 and 50 nm are preferred in the development and study of PNP/drugs systems. In this sense, the Semicontinuous Heterophase Polymerization (SHP) offers the possibility to obtain PNP in the desired size range. Considering the above explained, methacrylic copolymer nanoparticles were obtained under SHP. The reactions were carried out in a jacketed glass reactor with the required quantities of water, ammonium persulfate as initiator, sodium dodecyl sulfate/sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate as surfactants, methyl methacrylate and methacrylic acid as monomers with molar ratio of 2/1, respectively. The monomer solution was dosed dropwise during reaction at 70 °C with a mechanical stirring of 650 rpm. Nanoparticles of poly(methyl methacrylate-co-methacrylic acid) were loaded with acetylsalicylic acid (ASA, aspirin) by a chemical adsorption technique. The purified latex was put in contact with a solution of ASA in dichloromethane (DCM) at 0.1, 0.2, 0.4 or 0.6 wt-%, at 35°C during 12 hours. According to the boiling point of DCM, as well as DCM and water densities, the loading process is completed when the whole DCM is evaporated. The hydrodynamic diameter was measured after polymerization by quasi-elastic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy, before and after loading procedures with ASA. The quantitative and qualitative analyses of PNP loaded with ASA were measured by infrared spectroscopy, differential scattering calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis. Also, the molar mass distributions of polymers were determined in a gel permeation chromatograph apparatus. The load capacity and efficiency were determined by gravimetric analysis. The hydrodynamic diameter results for methacrylic PNP without ASA showed a narrow distribution with an average particle size around 10 nm and a composition methyl methacrylate/methacrylic acid molar ratio equal to 2/1, same composition of Eudragit S100, which is a commercial compound widely used as excipient. Moreover, the latex was stabilized in a relative high solids content (around 11 %), a monomer conversion almost 95 % and a number molecular weight around 400 Kg/mol. The average particle size in the PNP/aspirin systems fluctuated between 18 and 24 nm depending on the initial percentage of aspirin in the loading process, being the drug content as high as 24 % with an efficiency loading of 36 %. These average sizes results have not been reported in the literature, thus, the methacrylic nanoparticles here reported are capable to be loaded with a considerable amount of ASA and be used as a drug carrier.

Keywords: aspirin, biocompatibility, biodegradable, Eudragit S100, methacrylic nanoparticles

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Authors: P. Gao, Z. Q. Li, Y. G. Jin

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In the past 10 years, computers and cellphones have become one of the most important factors in our lives, and one which has a tremendously negative impact on our muscles. Muscle tension may be one of the causes of sleep disturbance. Tension in the shoulders and neck can affect blood circulation to the muscles. This research uses a dry needling treatment to reduce muscle tension in order to determine if the strain in the head and shoulders can influence sleep duration. All 38 patients taking part in the testing suffered from tinnitus and have been experiencing disturbed sleep for at least one to five years. Even after undergoing drug therapy treatments and traditional acupuncture therapies, their sleep disturbances have not shown any improvement. After five to 10 dry needling treatments, 24 of the patients reported an improvement in their sleep duration. Five patients considered themselves to be completely recovered, while 12 patients experienced no improvement. This study investigated these pathogenic and therapeutic problems. The standard treatment for sleep disturbances is drug-based therapy; the results of most standard treatments are unfortunately negative. The result of this clinical research has demonstrated that: The possible cause of sleep disturbance for a lot of patients is the result of tensions in the neck and shoulder muscles. Blood circulation to those muscles is also influenced by the duration of sleep. Hypertonic neck and shoulder muscles are considered to impact sleeping patterns and lead to disturbed sleep. Poor posture, often adopted while speaking on the phone, is one of the main causes of hypertonic neck and shoulder muscle problems. The dry needling treatment specifically focuses on the release of muscle tension.

Keywords: dry needling, muscle tension, sleep duration, hypertonic muscles

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Authors: S. Opadere Olaolu

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Religion, as a belief-system, has been with humanity for a long time. It has been recognised to impact the lives of individuals, groups, and communities that hold it dear. Whether the impact is regarded as positive or not depends on the assessor. Thus, for reasons of likely subjectiveness, possible irrationality, and even outright deliberate abuse, most emerging economies seek to follow the pattern of separating the State from religion; yet it is certain that the influence of religion on the State is incontrovertible. Corruption, on the other hand, though difficult to define in precise terms, is clearly perceptible. It could manifest in very diverse ways, including the abuse of a position of trust for the gain of an individual, or of a group with shared ulterior motive. Religion has been perceived, among others, as a means to societal stability, marital stability, infusion of moral rectitude, and conscience with regards to right and wrong. In time past, credible and dependable characters reposed largely and almost exclusively with those bearing deep religious conviction. Even in the political circle, it was thought that the involvement of those committed to religion would bring about positive changes, for the benefit of the society at large. On the contrary, in recent times, religion has failed in these lofty expectations. The level of corruption in most developing economies, and the increase of religion seem to be advancing pari passu. For instance, religion has encroached into political space, and vice versa, without any differentiable posture to the issue of corruption. Worse still, religion appears to be aiding and abetting corruption, overtly and/or covertly. Therefore, this discourse examined from the Nigerian perspective—as a developing economy—, and from a multidisciplinary stand-point of Law and Religion, the issue of religion; secularism; corruption; romance of religion and politics; inability of religion to exemplify moral rectitude; indulgence of corruption by religion; and the need to keep religion in private sphere, with proper checks. The study employed primary and secondary sources of information. The primary sources included the Constitutions of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended; judicial decisions; and the Bible. The secondary sources comprised of information from books, journals, newspapers, magazines and Internet documents. Data obtained from these sources were subjected to content analysis. Findings of this study include the breach of constitutional provisions to keep religion out of State affairs; failure of religion to curb corruption; outright indulgence of corruption by religion; and religion having become a political tool. In conclusion, it is considered apposite still to keep the State out of religion, and to seek enforcement of the constitutional provisions in this respect. The stamp of legality placed on overt and covert corruption by religion should be removed by all means.

Keywords: corruption, complicity, legalizing, religion

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Authors: S. Kudlacik-Kramarczyk, M. Kedzierska, B. Tyliszczak

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Recently, the continuous development of medicine and related sciences has been observed. Particular emphasis is directed on the development of biomaterials, i.e., non-toxic, biocompatible and biodegradable materials that may improve the effectiveness of treatment as well as the comfort of patients. This is particularly important in the case of cancer treatment. Currently, there are many methods of cancer treatment based primarily on chemotherapy and the surgical removal of the tumor, but it is worth noting that these therapies also cause many side effects. Among women, the most common cancer is breast cancer. It may be completely cured, but the consequence of treatment is partial or complete breast mastectomy and radiation therapy, which results in severe skin burns. The skin of the patient after radiation therapy is very burned, and therefore requires intensive care and high frequency of dressing changes. The traditional dressing adheres to the burn wounds and does not absorb adequate amount of exudate from injuries and the patient is forced to change the dressing every 2 hours. Therefore, the main purpose was to develop an innovative combination of dressing material with drug carriers that may be used in anti-cancer therapy. The innovation of this solution is the combination of these two products into one system, i.e., a transdermal system with the possibility of a controlled release of the drug- cytostatic. Besides, the possibility of modifying the hydrogel matrix with aloe vera juice provides this material with new features favorable from the point of view of healing processes of burn wounds resulting from the radiation therapy. In this study, hydrogel materials containing protein spheres with the active substance have been obtained as a result of photopolymerization process. The reaction mixture consisting of the protein (albumin) spheres incorporated with cytostatic, chitosan, adequate crosslinking agent and photoinitiator has been subjected to the UV radiation for 2 minutes. Prepared materials have been subjected to the numerous studies including the analysis of cytotoxicity using murine fibroblasts L929. Analysis was conducted based on the mitochondrial activity test (MTT reduction assay) which involves the determining the number of cells characterized by proper metabolism. Hydrogel materials obtained using different amount of crosslinking agents have been subjected to the cytotoxicity analysis. According to the standards, tested material is defined as cytotoxic when the viability of cells after 24 h incubation with this material is lower than 70%. In the research, hydrogel polymer materials containing protein spheres incorporated with the active substance, i.e. a cytostatic, have been developed. Such a dressing may support the treatment of cancer due to the content of the anti-cancer drug - cytostatic, and may also provide a soothing effect on the healing of the burn wounds resulted from the radiation therapy due to the content of aloe vera juice in the hydrogel matrix. Based on the conducted cytotoxicity studies, it may be concluded that the obtained materials do not adversely affect the tested cell lines, therefore they can be subjected to more advanced analyzes.

Keywords: hydrogel polymers, cytostatics, drug carriers, cytotoxicity

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