Quantitative determination of ambroxol in tablets by derivative UV spectrophotometric method and HPLC

A derivative UV spectrophotometric method for the determination of ambroxol in tablets was developed. Determination of ambroxol in tablets was conducted by using first-order derivative UV spectrophotometric method at 255 nm (n = 5). Standards for the calibration graph ranging from 5.0 to 35.0 microg/ml were prepared from stock solution. The proposed method was accurate with 98.6+/-0.4% recovery value and precise with coefficient of variation (CV) of 1.22. These results were compared with those obtained by reference methods, zero-order UV spectrophotometric method and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. A reversed-phase C(18) column with aqueous phosphate (0.01 M)-acetonitrile-glacial acetic acid (59:40:1, v/v/v) (pH 3.12) mobile phase was used and UV detector was set to 252 nm. Calibration solutions used in HPLC were ranging from 5.0 to 20.0 microg/ml. Results obtained by derivative UV spectrophotometric method was comparable to those obtained by reference methods, zero-order UV spectrophotometric method and HPLC, as far as ANOVA test, F(calculated) = 0.762 and F(theoretical) = 3.89, was concerned.     

Establishment and characterization of the Masquelet induced membrane technique in a rat femur critical‐sized defect model

The Masquelet induced membrane technique for reconstructing large diaphyseal defects has been shown to be a promising clinical treatment, yet relatively little is known about the cellular, histological and biochemical make‐up of these membranes and how they produce this positive clinical outcome. We compared cellular make‐up, histological changes and growth factor expression in membranes induced around femur bone defects and in subcutaneous pockets at 2, 4 and 6 weeks after induction, and to the periosteum. We found that membranes formed around bone defects were similar to those formed in subcutaneous pockets; however, both were significantly different from periosteum with regard to structural characteristics, location of blood vessels and overall thickness. Membranes induced at the femur defect (at 2 weeks) and in periosteum contain mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs; STRO‐1⁺) which were not found in membranes induced subcutaneously. BMP‐2, TGFβ and VEGF were significantly elevated in membranes induced around femur defects in comparison to subcutaneously induced membranes, whereas SDF‐1 was not detectable in membranes induced at either site. We found that osteogenic and neovascular activity had mostly subsided by 6 weeks in membranes formed at both sites. It was conclude that cellular composition and growth factor content in induced membranes depends on the location where the membrane is induced and differs from periosteum. Osteogenic and neovascular activity in the membranes is maximal between 2 and 4 weeks and subsides after 6. Based on this, better and quicker bone healing might be achieved if the PMMA cement were replaced with a bone graft earlier in the Masquelet technique. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Early clinical experience with the p48MW HPC and p64MW HPC flow diverters in the anterior circulation aneurysm using single anti-platelet treatment

BackgroundThe p64MW HPC and p48MW HPC flow diverters have reduced thrombogenicity due to hydrophilic coating. The purpose of this study was to evaluate its safety and efficacy in Mongolian patients under single antiplatelet therapy (SAPT) with prasugrel.Materials and methodsWe performed a retrospective review of patients enrolled into our prospectively maintained database to identify all patients treated with either the p48MW HPC or p64MW HPC under SAPT. We recorded baseline demographics, aneurysm size and location, procedural complications, angiographic and clinical results.Results24 patients, (female = 21, 87.5%), age 48.2 ± 11.6 years (range 25–63) underwent treatment of 30 aneurysms with either p64MW HPC or p48MW HPC. All aneurysms were saccular with dome width 8.2 ± 6.5 (range 1.6–26.0 mm) and dome height 7.6 ± 6.7 (range 1.6–30.0 mm). None of the aneurysms were previously treated. The average PRU was 54.6 ± 31.2 (range 1–127) on pre-operative VerifyNow testing. Angiographic follow-up was available for 13 patients (17 aneurysms), 183 ± 36 days post-procedure, at which point 64.7% of aneurysms (n = 11/17) were completely occluded and 11.8% (n = 2/17) had only neck remnants resulting in 76.5% of aneurysms being adequately occluded A single intra-operative complication (4.2%) occurred however all patients were mRS ≤1 at last follow-up. There were two post-operative complications neither of which resulted in permanent neurological morbidity. There were no instances of post-operative aneurysmal rupture or delayed parenchymal haemorrhage. The overall mortality was 0%.ConclusionThe efficacy and safety of p64MW HPC coated devices under SAPT is similar to uncoated flow diverters that require DAPT.     

Monitoring of environmental contamination by Echinococcus multilocularis in an urban fringe forest park in Hokkaido, Japan

Objectives  The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Echinococcus multilocularis environmental contamination in an urban fringe—the Nopporo forest park of Sapporo city, Hokkaido, Japan. A secondary aim was to determine possible transmission risks areas by associating percentage occurrence of E. multilocularis-positive faeces with the different land-use classes. Methods  Wild fox faeces collected from the environment were examined by intravital methods, such as the taeniid egg sucrose floatation technique, E. multilocularis coproantigen enzyme-linked immunosorbent analysis and DNA test of taeniid eggs by PCR. Geospatial maps produced by the Global Positioning System and Landsat data were analysed using geographic information system software to determine the association between percentage occurrences of E. multilocularis-positive fox faeces and land-use classes. Results  Our findings showed high prevalence rates in both E. multilocularis egg and coproantigen-positive faeces (16 and 49%, respectively) in the investigated urban fringe forest park. Data revealed that percentage occurrence of E. multilocularis-positive fox faeces was associated with land-use classes, such as forest and open field (P < 0.05). Conclusions  We conclude that Nopporo forest park in the urban fringe of Sapporo city, Hokkaido is a reservoir with a high prevalence of zoonotic infective agents for alveolar echinococcosis. Our findings suggest that interface habitats between forests or woodlands and open fields are indispensable for continued maintenance of the life-cycle of E. multilocularis and, as such, constitute high risk areas for echinococcosis transmission.     

Effects of alcohol withdrawal on blood pressure in hypertensive heavy drinkers

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological investigations have demonstrated a close association between heavy alcohol consumption and hypertension. The mechanisms of this association, however, remain elusive. We studied the effects of alcohol withdrawal on blood pressure, hormonal parameters, and circulating markers of endothelial activity. METHODS: In 14 hypertensive heavy alcohol consumers (> 200 g/day) who agreed to participate in a hospital withdrawal programme we monitored, for 30 days, blood pressure, plasma levels of renin, aldosterone, cortisol, endothelin, and plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1), and urinary levels of catecholamines. Patients in the withdrawal group were compared with eight hypertensive heavy drinkers who refused to participate in the programme and maintained regular alcohol consumption and 11 normotensive teetotalers. RESULTS: By the third day after withdrawal, blood pressure was significantly decreased and the normalization of levels was obtained in 13 of 14 patients by the end of the study. Alcohol withdrawal significantly decreased plasma aldosterone and cortisol levels, but did not affect levels of active renin and fractionated urinary catecholamines. At baseline, plasma endothelin and PAI-1 levels were significantly higher in alcoholic individuals than in teetotalers, and after the cessation of alcohol intake decreased progressively, reaching levels different from baseline within 1 week. A significant correlation was found between changes in endothelin and PAI-1, and blood pressure variations during alcohol abstinence that remained significant only for endothelin with the multivariate approach. CONCLUSION: Hypertension is rapidly reversible in the majority of heavy drinkers after the withdrawal of alcohol consumption. In these patients, hypertension is associated with an increased release of endothelial factors that might contribute to the increase in blood pressure.     

An event-related potential component sensitive to images of the human body

One of the critical functions of vision is to provide information about other individuals. Neuroimaging experiments examining the cortical regions that analyze the appearance of other people have found partially overlapping networks that respond selectively to human faces and bodies. In event-related potential (ERP) studies, faces systematically elicit a negative component peaking 170 ms after presentation - the N170. To characterize the electrophysiological response to human bodies, we compared the ERPs elicited by faces, bodies and various control stimuli. In Experiment 1, a comparison of ERPs elicited by faces, bodies, objects and places showed that pictures of the human body (without the head) elicit a negative component peaking at 190 ms (an N190). While broadly similar to the N170, the N190 differs in both spatial distribution and amplitude from the N1 components elicited by faces, objects and scenes and peaks significantly later than the N170. The difference between N190 and N170 was further supported using topographic analyses of ERPs and source localization techniques. A unique, stable map topography was found to characterize human bodies between 130 and 230 ms. In Experiment 2, we tested the four conditions from Experiment 1, as well as intact and scrambled silhouettes and stick figures of the human body. We found that intact silhouettes and stick figures elicited significantly greater N190 amplitudes than their scrambled counterparts. Thus, the N190 generalizes to some degree to schematic depictions of the human form. Overall, our findings are consistent with intertwined, but functionally distinct, neural representations of the human face and body.     

Screening for primary angle closure in Mongolia: a randomised controlled trial to determine whether screening and prophylactic treatment will reduce the incidence of primary angle closure glaucoma in an east Asian population

AIM: To describe the methods used and initial results of a prospective study designed to determine whether screening and prophylactic treatment will reduce the incidence of primary angle closure glaucoma (PACG) in Mongolia. METHODS: A total of 4725 individuals aged 50 years and above were recruited to the study and randomised to intervention or control groups. All subjects had non-mydriatic optic disc examination. The intervention arm had measurement of anterior chamber depth (ACD) by A-scan ultrasound and intraocular pressure (IOP) with Tonopen. Gonioscopy was performed on test positive cases (ACD <2.53 mm or IOP >or=24 mm Hg either eye). Those with occludable angles were offered laser iridotomy. Primary outcome will be incidence of PACG at 5 year follow up. RESULTS: Glaucoma was diagnosed in 128 (2.7%) subjects. Of the remaining 4597, 2293 were randomised to intervention. Intervention as allocated was received by 2280 (99.4%) individuals. 160 (23.4%) of 685 test positive cases had occludable angles, of which 156 were treated with iridotomy. CONCLUSIONS: This trial is a further step in determining whether screening and prophylactic treatment for primary angle closure in east Asian populations will reduce the incidence of glaucoma.     

A new nematode,Soboliphyme ataahai sp. n. (Nematoda: Soboliphymidae) from Laxmann's shrew,Sorex caecutiens Laxmann, 1788 in Mongolia

This report describes a new species of the soboliphymid nematode, Soboliphyme ataahai sp. n. from Laxmann's shrew, Sorex caecutiens. This species is distinguished from the previously known congeners by the notched cephalic sucker with a thin circumoral membrane, relatively long vagina, cephalic papillae arranged in clusters, and bursa possessing papillae on inner and outer surfaces. Also, Soboliphyme ataahai differs from the congeners in other characters, such as position of vulva, number and distribution of cervical sacs, structure of cephalic sucker, body size, and dimensions of organs.     

Reconstruction of cartilage,bone, and hematopoietic microenvironment with demineralized bone matrix and bone marrow cells

Highly specialized hard tissues, such as cartilage, bone, and stromal microenvironment supporting hematopoiesis, originate from a common type of mesenchymal progenitor cell (MPC). We hypothesized that MPCs present in bone marrow cell suspension and demineralized bone matrix (DBM) that possess natural conductive and inductive features might constitute a unit containing all the essential elements for purposive bone and cartilage induction. Using a rodent preclinical model, we found that implantation of a composite comprising DBM and MPCs into A) a damaged area of a joint; B) an ablated bone marrow cavity, and C) a calvarial defect resulted in the generation of A) a new osteochondral complex comprising articular cartilage and subchondral bone; B) trabecular bone and stromal microenvironment supporting hematopoiesis, and C) flat bone, respectively. The new tissue formation followed differentiation pathways controlled by site-specific physiological conditions, thus developing tissues that precisely met local demands.