RESUMO
Lipid-based vectors are becoming promising alternatives to traditional therapies over the last 2 decades specially for managing life-threatening diseases like cancer. Cationic lipids are the most prevalent non-viral vectors utilized in gene delivery. The increasing number of clinical trials about lipoplex-based gene therapy demonstrates their potential as well-established technology that can provide robust gene transfection. In this regard, this review will summarize this important point. These vectors however have a modest transfection efficiency. This limitation can be partly addressed by using functional lipids that provide a plethora of options for investigating nucleic acid-lipid interactions as well as in vitro and in vivo nucleic acid delivery for biomedical applications. Despite their lower gene transfer efficiency, lipid-based vectors such as lipoplexes have several advantages over viral ones: they are less toxic and immunogenic, can be targeted, and are simple to produce on a large scale. Researchers are actively investigating the parameters that are essential for an effective lipoplex delivery method. These include factors that influence the structure, stability, internalization, and transfection of the lipoplex. Thorough understanding of the design principles will enable synthesis of customized lipoplex formulations for life-saving therapy.
Assuntos
Técnicas de Transferência de Genes , Terapia Genética , Lipídeos , Lipossomos , Humanos , Lipídeos/química , Terapia Genética/métodos , Lipossomos/química , Animais , Transfecção/métodos , Vetores Genéticos/química , Ácidos Nucleicos/química , Ácidos Nucleicos/administração & dosagemRESUMO
OBJECTIVE: This work was undertaken to evaluate the protective effect of Arsenicum album 30C against COVID-19. DESIGN: The work was designed as a prospective parallel cluster cohort study. INTERVENTION: Participants were enrolled in a homeopathy intervention (HI) cohort (who received Arsenicum album) or in a non-intervention (NI) cohort (who received no systematic intervention) from COVID-19 containment areas of Delhi. Individuals of age 5 years or above were given four medicated pills of Arsenicum album 30C, while those from 1 to 5 years old were given two medicated pills in each dose. RESULTS: The analysis included 10,180 individuals residing in 11 COVID-19 containment areas in Delhi, out of which 6,590 individuals were in the HI cohort and 3,590 individuals were in the NI cohort. The overall protective effect of Arsenicum album 30C was 83.43% (95% confidence interval [CI], 76.77 to 88.17): 45 cases per 6,590 (8.34 per 10,000 person-weeks) in the Arsenicum album 30C group versus 143 cases per 3,590 (45.01 per 10,000 person-weeks) in the NI cohort. The protective effect of Arsenicum album 30C against laboratory confirmed COVID-19 was 74.40% (95% CI, 55.08 to 85.41): 18 cases per 6,590 (3.32 per 10,000 person-weeks) in the Arsenicum album 30C group versus 38 cases per 3,590 (11.85 per 10,000 person-weeks) in the NI cohort. CONCLUSION: The use of Arsenicum album 30C was associated with some protection against probable and laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in a containment-zone setting. Randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm or refute these results.
Assuntos
Arsenicais , Tratamento Farmacológico da COVID-19 , COVID-19 , Homeopatia , Humanos , Pré-Escolar , Lactente , Arsenicais/uso terapêutico , Homeopatia/métodos , COVID-19/prevenção & controle , Estudos de Coortes , Estudos Prospectivos , Relação Dose-Resposta a Droga , ÍndiaRESUMO
This study aimed to optimize pyrolysis conditions to maximize bio-oil yield from cattle dung, a waste product of livestock practices. Pyrolysis of cattle dung was carried out in batch type reactor. The pyrolysis process was optimized using a central composite design in response surface methodology, with conversion parameters such as pyrolysis temperature, vapor cooling temperature, residence time, and gas flow rate taken into account. The cattle dung bio-oil was analyzed using gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GC/MS), an elemental analyzer, a pH probe, and a bomb calorimeter. Furthermore, the ASTM standard procedures were used to determine the bio-fuel characteristics. The optimized conditions were found to be a pyrolysis temperature of 402 °C, a vapor cooling temperature of 2.25 °C, a residence time of 30.72 min, and a gas flow rate of 1.81 l min-1, resulting in a maximum bio-oil yield of 18.9%. According to the findings, the yield of bio-oil was predominantly affected by pyrolysis temperature and vapor cooling temperature. Moreover, the bio-oil that was retrieved was discovered to be similar to conventional liquid fuels in numerous ways.
Assuntos
Biocombustíveis , Pirólise , Animais , Bovinos , Biocombustíveis/análise , Cromatografia Gasosa-Espectrometria de Massas , Esterco/análise , Temperatura , Temperatura Alta , Fezes/químicaRESUMO
Marfan's syndrome (MFS) is an autosomal dominant connective tissue disorder with defect in the fibrillin-1 gene. The most common ocular manifestation is subluxated lens in the superotemporal direction, accounting for 50%-85% of total cases. The association of lens coloboma with MFS has been described in literature, but the coexistence of lens coloboma with ectopia lentis is a rare feature. Here, we describe three cases of MFS including a case of bilateral lens coloboma with ectopia lentis: case 1 - a 39-year-old male with inferotemporal lens subluxation in the right eye and superotemporal lens subluxation in the left eye with open-angle glaucoma and high myopia, case 2 - a 15-year-old child with bilateral superonasal lens subluxation with lens coloboma, and case 3 - a 56-year-old female with bilateral lens coloboma. Case 1 and case 2 had clear lenses with good refractive correction; hence, they were optically rehabilitated with contact lenses, whereas case 3 was advised for cataract surgery. It is important to distinguish the lens coloboma from a more common entity, ectopia lentis as former usually remains stable while the latter might need a surgical intervention.
RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken to assess the effectiveness of Eupatorium perfoliatum (EP) 30C on the incidence of dengue fever and acute febrile illness (AFI) during the 2017 dengue outbreak. METHODS: We conducted a prospective, open-label, community-based parallel cohort study involving apparently healthy individuals residing in 06 urban slums (JJ colony) of Delhi. The participants were enrolled in two cohorts - the medicine cohort (MC) and the control cohort (CC). Participants in MC were given weekly one dose of EP 30C for 10 weeks along with Information, Education and Communication (IEC) material regarding dengue. Participants in the CC were provided with the IEC material only. The primary outcome measure was the incidence of dengue fever as per case definitions notified in the national guidelines for clinical management of dengue fever by the Government of India during the 10 weeks follow-up period. The secondary outcome measures were the incidence of AFI and the hospitalization of confirmed dengue cases. RESULTS: The analysis included 40,769 participants residing in 06 slum clusters of Delhi out of which 28,321 participants were in MC and 12,448 participants were in CC. The incidence of laboratory-confirmed dengue in the MC was 2.57 per 10,000 person-weeks (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.02-3.22) in comparison with 7.55 per 10,000 person-weeks (95% CI, 6.12-9.21) in the CC. The incidence of AFI in the MC was 19.66 per 10,000 person-weeks (95% CI, 18.07-21.36) in comparison with 40.96 per 10,000 person-weeks (95% CI, 37.48-44.67) in the CC. The overall protective effect of EP against laboratory-confirmed dengue was 65.77% (95% CI, 53.37-74.87; p = 0.0001) and against AFI was 52.58% (95% CI, 46.37-58.07; p = 0.0001). Hospitalization reported in the MC was nil as against 4.35% in the CC. No dengue-related case fatalities were reported from either cohort. None of the participants from the MC reported any adverse events owing to the prophylactic intervention. CONCLUSION: The study concludes that EP 30C was able to prevent dengue significantly. Randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm or refute our findings.
Assuntos
Dengue , Eupatorium , Humanos , Áreas de Pobreza , Estudos de Coortes , Estudos Prospectivos , Surtos de Doenças , Dengue/epidemiologia , Dengue/prevenção & controleRESUMO
A unique trait, i.e. yellowing of apical/young leaves in response to low temperature and high relative humidity was identified in a chickpea genotype, ICCX110069. To determine inheritance pattern of this trait, ICCX110069 was crossed to four other genotypes, GL14050, GL14049, GL14059 and SAGL152117, that exhibited normal green apical leaves under similar environmental conditions. The F1, F2, F3, BC1F1 and BC1F2 generations were generated. A ratio of 13 normal green leaf: three yellow leaf was found to be the best fit, indicated digenic gene action with suppressor effect of normal green leaf over the expression of yellowing of apical/young leaf trait. The chlorophyll content was significantly lower, while guaiacol peroxidase activity was significantly higher in yellow leaves of ICCX110069 as compared to green leaves of the same genotype and of GL14049, indicating the competence of antioxidative defence mechanism involved with the expression of this trait.
Assuntos
Clorofila/metabolismo , Cicer/genética , Padrões de Herança , Peroxidase/metabolismo , Folhas de Planta/metabolismo , Fenômenos Fisiológicos Vegetais/genética , Temperatura Baixa , Genótipo , UmidadeRESUMO
Banana starch has drawn considerable attention these days owe to its commercial competitive potential and functional features in terms of human well being. Nowadays it emerges as a recent trade commodity with a broad range of suitability to many commercial aspects except its restricted exploitation by food industries only. As an additive, starch from unripe banana is the advocated target to derive many of standardized formulation with enhanced health attributes. Adopted modifications tactics in them to resistant starch form impart slow digestibility rate and limited rise in blood glycemic index. Besides, a vast range of rheological behavior and hydrothermal variations add extensive feasibility to formulation parameters. Banana starch is an according mean to exhibit gelatinization and retrogradation shift behavior on heating (cooking, baking, roasting, stewing and frying) as a result of which; organoleptic, physicochemical, nutritional, and digestive features are depends. This review presented all these above stated terms in a comparative means for banana starch behavior and modification possibilities as functional resources.