Awareness of hormonal emergency contraception among married women in a Kuwaiti family social network

OBJECTIVE: Awareness and use of hormonal emergency contraception are not known in the Arab world. This study investigated awareness and perceptions of hormonal emergency contraception among women within a Kuwaiti extended family and their social contacts. STUDY DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire which was distributed to 66 married women within a Kuwaiti family's social network. The questionnaire provided a short explanation of hormonal emergency contraception and then elicited the respondent's prior awareness, concerns and perception on future availability. RESULTS: The mean (S.D.) age of the respondents was 35.1 (6.3) years. Over 30% were currently using oral contraceptives; 28% were using no contraceptive method. Four women (6.1%) had heard of hormonal emergency contraception before, one had used it. Most respondents (65.2%) would not use or inform a friend about hormonal emergency contraception. Main concerns were risks to the health of the woman (83.3%) or the baby (54.5%) or that it was abortifacient (21.2%). However, 90.9% of respondents wanted hormonal emergency contraception to be available. CONCLUSIONS: Awareness of hormonal emergency contraception is low among Kuwaiti women. Despite some concerns, they feel it should be made available. Health care providers and policymakers should address this situation.     

Chitosan-coated bovine serum albumin nanoparticles for topical tetrandrine delivery in glaucoma: in vitro and in vivo assessment

Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness. Therapies available suffer from several drawbacks including low bioavailability, repeated administration and poor patient compliance with adverse effects thereafter. In this study, bovine serum albumin nanoparticles (BSA-NPs) coated with chitosan(CS) were developed for the topical delivery of tetrandrine (TET) for glaucoma management. Optimized nanoparticles were prepared by desolvation. pH, BSA, CS and cross-linking agent concentrations effects on BSA-NPs colloidal properties were investigated. CS-BSA-NPs with particle size 237.9 nm and zeta potential 24 mV was selected for further evaluation. EE% exceeded 95% with sustained release profile. In vitro mucoadhesion was evaluated based on changes in viscosity and zeta potential upon incubation with mucin. Ex vivo transcorneal permeation was significantly enhanced for CS coated formulation. In vitro cell culture studies on corneal stromal fibroblasts revealed NPs biocompatibility with enhanced cellular uptake and improved antioxidant and anti-proliferative properties for the CS-coated formulation. Moreover, BSA-NPs were nonirritant as shown by HET-CAM test. Also, bioavailability in rabbit aqueous humor showed 2-fold increase for CS-TET-BSA-NPs compared to TET with a sustained reduction in intraocular pressure in a rabbit glaucoma model. Overall, results suggest CS-BSA-NPs as a promising platform for topical ocular TET delivery in the management of glaucoma.     

UV-selective organic absorbers for the cosensitization of greenhouse-integrated dye-sensitized solar cells: synthesis and computational study

Molecular cosensitization is favorable for manipulating solar radiation through the judicious choice of cosensitizers having complementary absorption spectra. For greenhouse-integrated dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs), the manipulation of solar radiation is crucial in order to maximize the flow of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) for the effectual photosynthetic activity of plants; meanwhile, non-PAR is utilized in agrivoltaics for generating electricity. In this study, we report the synthesis of novel four UV-selective absorbers, based on the diimide scaffold, functionalized with carboxylate and pyridyl anchoring groups, for adequate adsorption onto the TiO₂ electrode in DSC. The UV/Vis absorption spectra of the DMF solution-based free dyes were measured experimentally. Basic photophysical and energetics requirements for operating greenhouse-integrated DSCs were examined at the molecular level via (time-dependent) density functional theory-based calculations. The computational results revealed the outperformance of the biphenyldiimide-structured DI-CA1 dye, especially for maximum charge transferred to its anchor, lower thermodynamic barrier for dissociating the photogenerated exciton, largest Stokes'' shift, strong electronic coupling with TiO₂ nanoparticles, and higher degree of charge separation at the DI-CA1/TiO₂ interface. PDOS showed deeper existence for the LUMO level in the CB of TiO₂, which expedites the electron injection process. The chemical and optical compatibility of DI-CA1 were then investigated as a potential cosensitizer of a reference BTD–DTP1, a green light-absorbing dye. Considerable overlap between the fluorescence spectrum of DI-CA1 and absorption spectrum of the reference BTD–DTP1 advocated the opportunity of excitation energy transfer via the radiative trivial reabsorption mechanism, which confirms the cosensitization functionality. Energy decomposition analysis and reduced density gradient maps estimated the chemical compatibility owing to weak dispersion interactions as the dominant stabilizing attractive force. This noncovalent functionalization retains the chemical compatibility without distorting the π–π conjugation and the associated physicochemical properties of the individual dye molecules. Along with the expanded consumption of non-photosynthetically active solar radiation, an improved power conversion efficiency of greenhouse-integrated DSC is accordingly expected.

Molecular cosensitization is favorable for manipulating solar radiation through the judicious choice of cosensitizers having complementary absorption spectra.     

Fabrication and Characterization of Highly Efficient As-Synthesized WO3/Graphitic-C3N4 Nanocomposite for Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Compounds

The incorporation of tungsten trioxide (WO₃) by various concentrations of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) was successfully studied. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), and Diffused Reflectance UV-Vis techniques were applied to investigate morphological and microstructure analysis, diffused reflectance optical properties, and photocatalysis measurements of WO₃/g-C₃N₄ photocatalyst composite organic compounds. The photocatalytic activity of incorporating WO3 into g-C₃N₄ composite organic compounds was evaluated by the photodegradation of both Methylene Blue (MB) dye and phenol under visible-light irradiation. Due to the high purity of the studied heterojunction composite series, no observed diffraction peaks appeared when incorporating WO₃ into g-C₃N₄ composite organic compounds. The particle size of the prepared composite organic compound photocatalysts revealed no evident influence through the increase in WO₃ atoms from the SEM characteristic. The direct and indirect bandgap were recorded for different mole ratios of WO₃/g-C₃N_4, and indicated no apparent impact on bandgap energy with increasing WO₃ content in the composite photocatalyst. The composite photocatalysts’ properties better understand their photocatalytic activity degradations. The pseudo-first-order reaction constants (K) can be calculated by examining the kinetic photocatalytic activity.     

Preparation and optimization of aloe ferox gel loaded with Finasteride-Oregano oil nanocubosomes for treatment of alopecia

Alopecia areata is a skin disorder characterized by scarless, localized hair loss that is usually managed by topical treatments that might further worsen the condition. Therefore, the current study aimed to develop nano-cubosomes loaded with finasteride (FI) and oregano oil (Or) to improve drug solubility and permeation through skin and then incorporate it into an aloe ferox gel base. An l-optimal coordinate exchange design was adopted to optimize nano-cubosomes. Phytantriol and Alkyl Acrylate were employed as the lipid material, and surfactant respectively for cubosomes manufacture. The produced formulations were assessed for their particle size, entrapment efficiency (EE%), FI steady-state flux (Jss) and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against Pro-pionibacterium acnes. Optimal FI-Or-NCu had a particle size of 135 nm, EE% equals 70%, Jss of 1.85 μg/cm2.h, and MIC of 0.44 μg/ml. The optimum formulation loaded gel gained the highest drug release percent and ex vivo skin permeation compared to FI aqueous suspension, and pure FI loaded gel. Aloe ferox and oregano oil in the optimized gel formulation had a synergistic activity on the FI permeation across the skin and against the growth of p. acne bacteria which could favor their use in treating alopecia. Thus, this investigation affirms the ability of FI-Or-NCu loaded aloe ferox gel could be an effective strategy that would enhance FI release and permeation through skin and maximize its favorable effects in treating alopecia.     

Detection of oqxA and oqxB efflux pump genes among nosocomial coliform bacilli: An observational cross-sectional study

Objectives: To identify and test the antibiotic susceptibility of nosocomial coliform bacilli and investigate the presence of oqxA and oqxB genes among the multidrug-resistant (MDR) phenotypes. Methods: One hundred and twenty different healthcare-associated infection samples were collected. Coliform bacilli were isolated, identified by conventional methods, and then antibiotic susceptibility tests were done using the VITEK2 system and disk diffusion methods. OqxAB operon was identified using a conventional PCR-based technique. oqxA and oqxB genes were compared between MDR Klebsiella pneumonia (K. pneumonia) phenotypes and MDR Escherichia coli (E. coli) phenotypes. Besides, oqxAB operons were compared between phenotypes of K. pneumonia and E. coli isolates. Results: Seventy coliform bacilli were isolated with the predominance of K. pneumonia and E. coli. Besides, 82.1％ of K. pneumonia strains and 53.3％ of E. coli isolates were MDR phenotypes. Significant more oqxB genes alone were found in MDR E. coli than that in MDR K. pneumoniae phenotypes (χ2=10.160, P=0.003). OqxAB operon was significantly more in MDR phenotypes of E. coli than that in the susceptible phenotypes (P<0.001). There was significantly less of this operon in susceptible E. coli isolates than that in susceptible K. pneumoniae isolates (P<0.001). OqxAB positive isolates that were also resistant to fluoroquinolones, tetracycline, trimethoprim, and chloramphenicol, most probably suggested functional pumps. Conclusions: MDR coliform bacilli are strongly implicated in healthcare-associated infection. Attention should be paid to the presence of oqxAB pump, as an important mechanism in the development of resistance against many antimicrobials because it contributes to co-resistance with other categories; therefore, this pump could be a good target for efflux pump inhibitors.