Eco-friendly solvent bar microextraction based on a natural deep eutectic solvent and multivariate optimization for simultaneous determination of spironolactone and canrenone in urine and plasma samples.

Simultaneous measurement of spironolactone and canrenone in urine and plasma provides valuable insight into renal function, and therapeutic efficacy and can be utilized to identify potential health risks and ensure patient safety throughout treatment. By adopting greener methods to analyze these compounds, significant reductions in the environmental impact of such studies can be achieved. For this purpose, a sensitive and eco-friendly solvent bar microextraction method using natural deep eutectic solvent (NDE) followed by high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) was developed to determine spironolactone and canrenone in urine and plasma samples. The extraction solvents were synthesized using NDE-based terpenoids containing menthol and camphor in various ratios. The extraction efficiency percentage (EE%) of both drugs was measured using response surface methodology (RSM) based on central composite design (CCD), and 29 extraction tests were conducted to determine the optimum conditions. Although all parameters were found to be significant, the extraction and elution times were critical for isolating the target analytes. Under optimized conditions, the linear dynamic ranges for spironolactone (SPI)/canrenone (CAN) were 11.7-104/13.1-104 µg L-1 and 21.7-104/24.6-104 µg L-1 in urine and plasma samples, respectively with R2 ≥ 0.993. The ranges of intra-/interprecision (relative standard deviation (RSD) %, n = 5) were 1.31-9.17%/ 2.4-11% with extraction recovery ≥ 88.6% for both drugs. The comparison findings with previously published methods confirmed that the developed NDE-solvent bar microextraction (SBME)-HPLC-DAD method for spironolactone and canrenone analysis displayed confident sensitivity, feasible operation, and simple analysis. Furthermore, the method's applicability and effectiveness were proven by successfully analyzing spironolactone and its metabolite canrenone in patients' urine and plasma samples.

Efficiency of natural oils as alternative adjuvants to mineral oils in inactivated avian influenza vaccine formulation.

1. The effectiveness of inactivated vaccines depends on selecting the suitable adjuvant for vaccine formulation. The potency of vaccines with low antigen content can be improved with the appropriate adjuvant. This could allow production of more doses and lower the production cost.2. This study evaluated the efficiency of vaccines prepared using oil extracted from natural sources including argan oil, almond oil, sesame seed oil, pumpkin oil, cactus oil and black seed oil as alternative adjuvants for improving the protection capacity of inactivated influenza virus vaccine as compared to commonly used mineral oils.3. Each vaccine formulation was evaluated for stability, safety and immunogenicity in chickens, as well as for reducing the viral shedding after challenge infection.4. The cactus, sesame and pumpkin seed oil-based vaccines were found to be potent and successfully induced the production of humoral immunity in vaccinated chickens.

Inflammation and joint destruction may be linked to the generation of cartilage metabolites of ADAMTS-5 through activation of toll-like receptors.

OBJECTIVE: Links between pain and joint degradation are poorly understood. We investigated the role of activation of Toll-like receptors (TLR) by cartilage metabolites in initiating and maintaining the inflammatory loop in OA causing joint destruction. METHODS: Synovial membrane explants (SMEs) were prepared from OA patients' synovial biopsies. SMEs were cultured for 10 days under following conditions: culture medium alone, OSM + TNFα, TLR2 agonist - Pam2CSK4, Pam3CSK4 or synthetic aggrecan 32-mer, TLR4 agonist - Lipid A. Release of pro-inflammatory and degradation biomarkers (acMMP3 and C3M) were measured by ELISA in conditioned media along with IL-6. Additionally, human cartilage was digested with ADAMTS-5, with or without the ADAMTS-5 inhibiting nanobody - M6495. Digested cartilage solution (DCS) and synthetic 32-mer were tested for TLR activation in SEAP based TLR reporter assay. RESULTS: Western blotting confirmed TLR2 and TLR4 in untreated OA synovial biopsies. TLR agonists showed an increase in release of biomarkers - acMMP3 and C3M in SME. Synthetic 32-mer showed no activation in the TLR reporter assay. ADAMTS-5 degraded cartilage fragments activated TLR2 in vitro. Adding M6495 - an anti-ADAMTS-5 inhibiting nanobody®, blocked ADAMTS-5-mediated DCS TLR2 activation. CONCLUSION: TLR2 is expressed in synovium of OA patients and their activation by synthetic ligands causes increased tissue turnover. ADAMTS-5-mediated cartilage degradation leads to release of aggrecan fragments which activates the TLR2 receptor in vitro. M6495 suppressed cartilage degradation by ADAMTS-5, limiting the activation of TLR2. In conclusion, pain and joint destruction may be linked to generation of ADAMTS-5 cartilage metabolites.

Active surveillance of avian influenza viruses in Egyptian poultry, 2015.

Surveillance for avian influenza viruses in Egyptian poultry has been conducted since 2009. Up to 2011, all the detected viruses were H5N1, and the overall prevalence was 5%. In 2011, H9N2 viruses were observed to be co-circulating and co-infecting the same hosts as H5N1 viruses. Since then, the detection rate has increased to around 10%. In the 2014-2015 winter season, H5N1 was circulating heavily in poultry flocks and caused an unprecedented number of human infections. In contrast, surveillance in the last quarter of 2015 indicated a near absence of H5N1 in Egyptian poultry. Surveillance for avian influenza viruses must continue in Egypt to monitor further developments in H5N1 circulation in poultry.

Selective removal of dibenzothiophene from commercial diesel using manganese dioxide-modified activated carbon: a kinetic study.

With a total concentration of 7055 mgS/kgfuel, the content of organosulphur compounds (OSCs) in local diesel is 20 times higher than the regulated value. Analysis revealed that 30% of OSC is originated from dibenzothiophene (DBT). It is known that DBT is a hardly removable compound and selective adsorbents are often needed for its removal with low affinity for other diesel components. In this work, a selective adsorbent based on surface modification of activated carbon (AC) by MnO2 is prepared for DBT removal from diesel. The porous nature of AC enabled carrying large amounts of MnO2 particles to end up with a selective adsorber for DBT. The best performance was observed at a surface loading of 26.8% of Mn and DBT is favourably removed over mono- and diaromatics hydrocarbons in diesel. Adsorption kinetics of DBT is studied under a high initial concentration of 835-11,890 mg/kg and at a ratio of 11 cm3/g (diesel:carbon). The results indicated a fast removal process after surface modification where 96% of the surface is occupied within 30 min of interaction. Kinetic data were best presented by reaction-based models with low prediction error sum of squares values 0.5-47.0, while, diffusion-based models showed limited application for modelling DBT adsorption. Accordingly, adsorption process is controlled by surface reactions and pore diffusion has a minor role in the overall process. The modified adsorbent is satisfactorily regenerated using n-hexane at 65°C.

Seroepidemiology for MERS coronavirus using microneutralisation and pseudoparticle virus neutralisation assays reveal a high prevalence of antibody in dromedary camels in Egypt, June 2013.

We describe a novel spike pseudoparticle neutralisation assay (ppNT) for seroepidemiological studies on Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERSCoV) and apply this assay together with conventional microneutralisation (MN) tests to investigate 1,343 human and 625 animal sera. The sera were collected in Egypt as a region adjacent to areas where MERS has been described, and in Hong Kong, China as a control region. Sera from dromedary camels had a high prevalence of antibody reactive to MERS-CoV by MERS NT (93.6%) and MERS ppNT (98.2%) assay. The antibody titres ranged up to 1,280 and higher in MN assays and 10,240 and higher in ppNT assays. No other investigated species had any antibody reactivity to MERS-CoV. While seropositivity does not exclude the possibility of infection with a closely related virus, our data highlight the need to attempt detection of MERSCoV or related coronaviruses in dromedary camels. The data show excellent correlation between the conventional MN assay and the novel ppNT assay. The newly developed ppNT assay does not require Biosafety Level 3 containment and is thus a relatively high-throughput assay, well suited for large-scale seroepidemiology studies which are needed to better understand the ecology and epidemiology of MERS-CoV.

Do commercial avian influenza H5 vaccines induce cross-reactive antibodies against contemporary H5N1 viruses in Egypt?

After emerging in Egypt in 2006, highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 viruses continued to cause outbreaks in Egyptian poultry and sporadic human infections. The strategy used by Egyptian authorities relied on vaccinating poultry, depopulating infected areas, and increasing awareness and biosecurity levels. Despite those efforts, H5N1 became endemic, and vaccine-escape variants are thought to have emerged even though commercial poultry vaccines were protective in laboratory settings. We studied the cross-reactivity of 6 commercially available H5 poultry vaccines against recent H5N1 Egyptian isolates in a field setting in Egypt. Only one vaccine based on an Egyptian H5N1 virus induced high cross-reactive antibody titers. Our results may be explained by the fact that the seed viruses in these vaccines are genetically distinct from H5N1 viruses currently circulating in Egypt. In light of our findings, we recommend that the H5N1 prevention and control strategy in Egypt be updated and reinforced. Special consideration should be given to the vaccination strategy, and the use of vaccines based on currently circulating viruses is advisable.

New palladium(II) complexes bearing pyrazole-based Schiff base ligands: synthesis, characterization and cytotoxicity.

Reactions of 5-hydrazino-1,3-dimethyl-4-nitro-1H-pyrazole (1) with substituted benzaldehydes (2-5) in methanol gave the new substituted benzaldehyde (1,3-dimethyl-4-nitro-1H-pyrazol-5-yl)hydrazone Schiff base ligands (6-9) benzaldehyde (1,3-dimethyl-4-nitro-1H-pyrazol-5-yl)hydrazone (H-BDH, 6), 2,3-dimethoxybenzaldehyde (1,3-dimethyl-4-nitro-1H-pyrazol-5-yl)hydrazone (MeO-BDH, 7), 4-chlorobenzaldehyde (1,3-dimethyl-4-nitro-1H-pyrazol-5-yl)hydrazone (Cl-BDH, 8), and 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde (1,3-dimethyl-4-nitro-1H-pyrazol-5-yl)hydrazone (OH-BDH, 9) in moderate to excellent yields. Reactions of these pyrazole-based Schiff bases with [PdCl(2)(NCPh)(2)] in acetone at room temperature gave the trans-palladium(II) complexes trans-[PdCl(2)(L)(2)] (10-13) (L=6-9). The isolated compounds were characterized by their physical properties, elemental analysis, IR-, MS (EI)- and NMR-spectroscopy. The cytotoxic effect of these complexes against the fast growing head and neck squamous carcinoma cells SQ20B and SCC-25 has been studied. The influence was dose dependent and varies by cell type. The complexes 11, 12, and 13 had higher clonogenic cytotoxic effect than cisplatin when tested on SQ20B cell line.

4-(4-Chloro-phen-yl)-1-(2-hydr-oxy-2,2-di-phenyl-acet-yl)thio-semicarbazide.

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C(21)H(18)ClN(3)O(2)S, contains two mol-ecules in which the bond lengths and angles are almost identical. Intra-molecular N-H⋯S hydrogen bonds result in the formation of two five-membered rings. In the crystal structure, inter-molecular N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the mol-ecules into centrosymmetric dimers; these dimers are linked via inter-molecular O-H⋯S hydrogen bonds, leading to infinite corrugated layers parallel to the bc plane through R(2) (2)(16) ring motifs.

Willingness of dentists in Jordan to treat HIV-infected patients.

UNLABELLED: Reluctance of dentists to treat human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive patients represents a major concern. Many efforts have been extended towards the documentation of the extent of this reluctance and speculation of factors that influence it. OBJECTIVES: Assess the willingness of dentists in Jordan to treat HIV-infected patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two hundred and forty-two general dental practices were surveyed for their willingness to provide treatment of toothache and routine dental care of an HIV-infected individual. RESULTS: Only 15% of the dental practices were willing to provide such care. Willingness to provide treatment did not seem to be influenced by financial factors or the local prevalence of HIV disease. CONCLUSION: Present data suggest that HIV-infected individuals will have difficulty in obtaining dental health care in Jordan.

Clinical evaluation of a new A.S. mouth wash 881010 as an antismoking agent: a placebo-controlled double-blind trial.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a new antismoking (A.S.) preparation manufactured by the Arab Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (APM) Company as an aid to smoking cessation. SUBJECTS, MATERIAL AND METHODS: The design of this clinical study involved 137 Jordanian healthy male smokers. Seventy-four male smokers were given the A.S. mouth wash (active ingredient 0.5% silver nitrate) and 63 male smokers received the placebo solution in a double-blind fashion. Mouth wash solutions were administered three times daily by gargling for one minute and for a period of two weeks. The daily number of cigarettes smoked by volunteers, nicotine, and cotinine concentrations in saliva, plasma, and urine were considered in this study as markers of smoking cessation. RESULTS: Means +/- SD of the number of cigarettes smoked before treatment (zero time) were 21.45 +/- 8.21, and 22.49 +/- 9.50 cigarettes in A.S. mouth wash- and placebo-treated groups, respectively. As compared to placebo, the A.S. mouth wash resulted in a significant (p < 0.05) reduction in the number of daily cigarettes smoked by volunteers during and after treatment. Means +/- SD of the number of cigarettes smoked by A.S. mouth wash-treated volunteers were 8.68 +/- 7.55, 7.87 +/- 6.80, and 10.14 +/- 8.29 cigarettes, and in placebo-treated individuals were 15.91 +/- 8.21, 15.70 +/- 9.58 and 17.03 +/- 9.06 cigarettes, one week, two weeks after treatment, and four weeks after stopping treatment, respectively. Furthermore, a significant number of volunteers either totally stopped or reduced smoking cigarettes after treatment with the A.S. mouth wash. Concerning nicotine and cotinine levels in biological fluids, a trend of a decrease in their levels was observed but it was found not statistically significant. Apart from reversible brownish to blackish discoloration of teeth and gums, no other side-effects were observed after treatment with the A.S. mouth wash. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the A.S. mouth wash 881010 is generally safe, easy to administer, and effective as an aid to smoking cessation.