Amino acid modified OCMC-g-Suc-ß-CD nanohydrogels carrying lapatinib and ginsenoside Rg1 exhibit high anticancer activity in a zebrafish model.

Nanohydrogels show great potential as efficient drug carriers due to their biocompatibility, low toxicity, and high water absorbability. In this paper, we prepared two O-carboxymethylated chitosan (OCMC)-based polymers functionalized with ß-cyclodextrin (ß-CD) and amino acid. The structures of the polymers were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy. Morphological study was carried out on a Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), and the results indicated that the two polymers had irregular spheroidal structure with some pores distributed on their surface. The average particle diameter was below 500 nm, and the zeta potential was above +30 mV. The two polymers were further used for preparing nanohydrogels loaded with anticancer drugs lapatinib and ginsenoside Rg1, and the resulting nanohydrogels showed high drug loading efficiency and pH-sensitive (pH = 4.5) drug release behavior. In vitro cytotoxicity investigation revealed that the nanohydrogels exhibited high cytotoxicity against lung cancer (A549) cells. In vivo anticancer investigation was performed in a transgenic Tg(fabp10:rtTA2s-M2; TRE2:EGFP-kras V12) zebrafish model. The results showed that the synthesized nanohydrogels significantly inhibited the expression of EGFP-kras v12 oncogene in zebrafish liver, and the L-arginine modified OCMC-g-Suc-ß-CD nanohydrogels loading lapatinib and ginsenoside Rg1 showed the best results.

When sexual offence is an unexpected diagnosis - exploration of medical, legal and social aspects in Nepalese scenario.

In Nepal, following allegations of sexual assault, the survivor is taken by the police to a Government Hospital for medical examination and sample collection. To provide an integrated service to survivors of gender-based violence, a One-Stop Crisis Management Centre (OCMC) is established in many Government Hospitals. However, paediatric survivors of sexual abuse frequently seek initial care at the emergency department, as most present with a medical complaint rather than for sexual abuse. It is therefore important to train emergency physicians with the skills required to identify the features and diagnose a case of sexual assault. We present a case where the diagnosis of sexual assault of a child was an incidental finding and discuss the challenges faced in dealing with such cases in non-OCMC Hospital.

Cu(II)-carboxymethyl chitosan-silane schiff base complex grafted on nano silica: Structural evolution, antibacterial performance and dye degradation ability.

O-Carboxymethyl chitosan (OCMC) Schiff's base was utilized for a new class of organic-inorganic hybrid material by grafting it on nano-silica-silane and further metallated with Cu (II). Here (3-Aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES) was used as a linker and 2-hydroxy-1-naphthaldehyde (HN) for Schiff's base formation. The hybrid was characterized by FTIR, TGA, powder XRD, SEM, CHN, DLS, ICP-AES, diffuse reflectance UV-vis and EDX spectroscopic techniques. Magnetization measurements were carried out by VSM at room temperature. This study explored the possible synergic effect of unique properties of carboxymethyl chitosan, Schiff's base Cu (II) complex and nano-silica towards antibacterial activity and in dye degradation studies. The antibacterial performance of nano-hybrid material was examined against both Gram-positive (Escherichia coli) and Gram-negative (Bacillus subtilis) bacteria. The catalytic activity of the hybrid was tested for degradation of reactive black 5 (RB5) through advanced oxidation processes using H2O2 as oxidant. The results show a high dye degradation efficiency of 93% in 130min by the hybrid catalyst with reusability. As per published reports, Chitosan-Schiff's bases show strong antimicrobial activity and their Cu complexes exhibit good catalytic and anticancer activities. Therefore, it is expected that the new organic-inorganic hybrid would be highly applicable in environmental as well as biomedical fields.