Correlation Between Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors and Anticonvulsants

Monoamine oxidase inhibitory and anticonvulsant properties of 2-substituted styryl-6-bromo-3-(4-ethylbenzoate/4 benzhydrazide)-4-quinazoles are studied. All styryl quinazolone esters except compound number 9 exhibited monoamine oxidase inhibitory properties during oxidative deamination of kynuramine. Corresponding hydrazides were found to have relatively higher activity. All these quinazolones were able to protect against pentylenetetrazol induced seizures. These observations in general do not prove that monoamine oxidase inhibitory properties represent the biochemical basis for the anticonvulsant activity of these compounds.     

Successful management of spontaneous pneumothorax during general anaesthesia in a patient with eosinophilia

A 10-year-old male patient posted for left elbow arthrolysis developed pneumothorax during general anaesthesia. He had history of upper respiratory tract infection and high eosinophil count, which remained high in spite of treatment. In such patients, it is advisable to use steroid pre-operatively & intraoperatively to produce transient eosinopenia so that complications of eosinophilia are avoided.     

Impact of Sulabh Swasthya Yojna -- an attitude study

Sulabh has been involved in research, training, and development in rural areas of 16 states and 2 union territories of India. There are 837 Sulabh branches operating in 301 districts. The objectives vary within projects, but the general aim is to improve the community's sanitation and primary health practices through grass roots level organizing. This study measures the impact of Sulabh Swasthya Yojana (SSY) on attitudes in 3 different villages in Rojoari district of Jammu region in December 1990. The villages included Tatapani, where Sulabh had been active since January 1990, an adjoining village, and a village 30 km away from the adopted village. 50 households from each village were interviewed. The findings were that a much higher percentage of people in the adopted village (81.96%) had a positive attitude toward family planning (FP), pre- and postnatal care, care of the female child, trench latrines, smokeless chulhas, and kitchen gardens. In nonadopted villages there were only 50.3% with positive attitudes, but 70.07% in adjoining villages were supportive. There were few differences in scores between Muslims and Hindus in these 2 villages. Both population groups had higher scores in adopted villages than nonadopted villages. The mean attitude scores showed that 78% of the people in the adopted village had a positive attitude toward FP. The mean attitude score for the adjoining village was 66.36% and 49.6% in the nonadopted village. Scores for pre- and postnatal care were 30% higher in the adopted village and 20% higher for the adjoining village than the nonadopted village. A favorable attitude toward late marriage and higher education of girls was expressed by 81.6% in the adopted village, 76.6% in the adjoining village, and 48.8% in the nonadopted village. All villages supported son preference. Only 43.3% supported sanitary practices in the nonadopted village, while 87.7% supported sanitary practices in the adopted village and 77.6% showed support in the adjoining village. The conclusion is that SSY has had a positive impact on people. The prerequisites for achieving Health for All are identified as appropriate IEC, motivators, resources, and community participation.     

Auditory evoked responses in gestational diabetics.

Electrophysiological correlates of sensory function in diabetic pregnancy have not been documented. Present study reports changes in Auditory evoked responses (AER) in gestational diabetics when compared with normal pregnant controls. Human AER are generally classified into early Auditory brainstem responses (AER), Mid latency responses (MLR) and late Slow vertex responses (SVR). These potentials were recorded in 20 women with diabetic pregnancy using Ag/AgCl electrodes from Cz-A1 and Cz-A2 position on MEB 5200 Neuropack II ... plus (Nihon Kohden, Japan) Evoked Potential Recorder. The evoked potentials in gestational diabetics were compared with 20 age matched normal pregnant women using Student's t-test. Absolute latencies of waves I to V, Inter peak latencies I-III and I-V of ABR were significantly increased whereas amplitude of wave V decreased in diabetic pregnant women. No significant change in latency of any component of MLR was observed between the two groups whereas significant prolongation of latencies of all components of SVR was observed in diabetic pregnant women as compared to normal control group. These findings indicate prolongation of both peripheral transmission time (PTT) and central transmission time (CTT) in diabetic pregnant females. Prolongation of latencies of SVR components in this study implicates cortex in the central diabetic neuropathy in women with gestational diabetes.     

Design,synthesis and docking study of Vortioxetine derivatives as a SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitor

PurposeVortioxetine an anti-depressant FDA-drug recently reported showing better in vitro efficacy against SARS-CoV-2.MethodsIn this study, we have synthesized ten new derivatives having alkenes, alkynes, benzyl, aryl, and mixed carbamate at the N-terminal of vortioxetine. Then the binding energy and interactions with the crucial amino acid residues in the binding pocket of main protease (M^pro) of SARS-CoV-2, of reported and ten newly synthesized vortioxetine derivatives (total thirty-one) in comparison with remdesivir are analyzed and presented in this paper.ResultsBased on the docking scores predicted by ADV and AD, most vortioxetine derivatives showed better binding efficiency towards M^pro of SARS-CoV-2 in comparison with remdesivir (an EUA approved drug against SARS-CoV-2 M^pro) and vortioxetine.ConclusionThis study shows that some vortioxetine derivatives can be developed into promising drugs for COVID-19 treatment.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40199-022-00441-z.     

Development and validation of a bedside risk score for MRSA among patients hospitalized with complicated skin and skin structure infections

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a frequent cause of complicated skin and skin structure infections (cSSSI). Patients with MRSA require different empiric treatment that those with non-MRSA infections, yet no accurate tools exist to aid in stratifying the risk for a MRSA cSSSI. Objectives. To develop a simple bedside decision rule to tailor empiric coverage more accurately. METHODS: We conducted a large multicenter (N=62 hospitals) retrospective cohort study in a US-based database between April 2005 and March 2009. All adult initial admissions with ICD-9-CM codes specific to cSSSI were included. Patients admitted with MRSA vs. non-MRSA were compared with regard to baseline demographic, clinical and hospital characteristics. We developed and validated a model to predict the risk of MRSA, and compared its performance via sensitivity, specificity and other classification statistics to the healthcare-associated (HCA) infection risk factors. RESULTS: Of the 7,183 patients with cSSSI, 2,387 (33.2%) had MRSA. Factors discriminating MRSA from non-MRSA were age, African-American race, no evidence of diabetes mellitus, cancer or renal dysfunction, and prior history of cardiac dysrhythmia. The score ranging from 0 to 8 points exhibited a consistent dose-response relationship. A MRSA score of 5 or higher was superior to the HCA classification in all characteristics, while that of 4 or higher was superior on all metrics except specificity. CONCLUSIONS: MRSA is present in 1/3 of all hospitalized cSSSI. A simple bedside risk score can help discriminate the risk for MRSA vs. other pathogens with improved accuracy compared to the HCA definition.     

Coherency image analysis to quantify collagen architecture: implications in scar assessment

An important histological difference between normal, uninjured dermis and scar tissue such as that found in keloid scars is the pattern (morphological architecture) in which the collagen is deposited and arranged. In the uninjured dermis, collagen bundle architecture appears randomly organized (or in a basket weave formation), whereas in pathological conditions such as keloid scar tissue, collagen bundles are often found in whorls or in a hypotrophic scar collagen is more densely packed in a parallel configuration. In the case of skin, a scar disables the dermis, leaving it weaker, stiff and with a loss of optimal functionality. The absence of objective and quantifiable assessments of collagen orientation is a major bottleneck in monitoring progression of scar therapeutics. In this article, a novel quantitative approach for analyzing collagen orientation is reported. The methodology is demonstrated using collagen produced by cells in a model scar environment and examines collagen remodeling post-TGFβ stimulation in vitro. The method is shown to be reliable and effective in identifying significant coherency differences in the collagen deposited by human keloid scar cells. The technique is also compared for analysing collagen architecture in rat sections of normal, scarred skin and tendon tissue. Results demonstrate that the proposed computational method provides a fast and robust way of analyzing collagen orientation in a manner surpassing existing methods. This study establishes this methodology as a preliminary means of monitoring in vitro and in tissue treatment modalities which are expected to alter collagen morphology.

A novel technique for the fast and robust quantification of collagen architecture following scarring.     

Ag-exchanged NaY zeolite introduced polyvinyl alcohol/polyacrylic acid mixed matrix membrane for pervaporation separation of water/isopropanol mixture

Ag-exchanged NaY zeolite (Ag-NaZ) particles were prepared by ion exchange and introduced to a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) membrane cross-linked with polyacrylic acid (PAA) for the pervaporation dehydration of an isopropanol (IPA) aqueous mixture. The Ag-exchanged NaY zeolite particles were characterized by FE-SEM, EDS, BET, and XRD studies. The prepared Ag-NaZ-loaded PVA/PAA composite membrane was characterized by FE-SEM, XRD, a swelling study, and contact angle measurements. Pervaporation characteristics were investigated in terms of Ag-NaZ concentrations within PVA/PAA membranes using diverse feed solution conditions. The preferential sorption of IPA/water mixtures for Ag-NaZ-introduced membranes were also determined by calculating the apparent activation energies of IPA and water permeation, respectively. As a result, flux and selectivity increased with the Ag-NaZ concentration to 5 wt% in the membrane. Optimum pervaporation performance was observed in a 5 wt% Ag-NaZ-incorporated membrane with a flux equal to 0.084 kg m⁻² h⁻¹ and a separation factor of 2717.9 at 40 °C from an 80 wt% IPA aqueous feed solution.

Ag-exchanged NaY zeolite (Ag-NaZ) particles were prepared by ion exchange and introduced to a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) membrane cross-linked with polyacrylic acid (PAA) for the pervaporation dehydration of an isopropanol (IPA) aqueous mixture.