Efficacy of abdominal breathing on sleep and quality of life among patients with non-erosive gastroesophageal reflux.

Aim: Abdominal breathing recently has demonstrated an important role in managing symptoms of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), improving quality of life, medication adherence, and sleep quality. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of abdominal breathing on sleep and quality of life in patients with non-erosive gastroesophageal reflux. Subject and methods: A Quasi-experimental design was used. A purposive sample of 100 patients was selected from the medical outpatient clinics of Menoufia University Hospital and the outpatient clinics of the National Liver Institute in Menoufia Governorate, Egypt. A Structured interview questionnaire was used to collect data on patients' sociodemographic characteristics, belly breathing exercise performance and self-reported compliance, GERD symptoms severity and frequency, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and GERD Health-Related Quality of Life. Results: The frequency of GERD symptoms decreased from 26.64 pre-intervention to 17.61 and 9.58, respectively, at two- and four-months post-intervention. Antacid consumption among patients taking it 7 days/week was reduced from 34% pre-intervention to 2% and 0% post-intervention by two and four months, respectively. Good sleepers were 24% pre-intervention then increased to 62% and 90% post-intervention by 2 and 4 months, respectively. Regarding GERD related quality of life, only 1% was satisfied pre-intervention, which increased to 32% and 72% post-intervention by 2 and 4 months, respectively. Conclusion: Abdominal breathing offers better therapeutic improvements in all patients' outcomes such as reduced severity and frequency of GERD symptoms, reduced antacid consumption, increased sleep quality, and increased satisfaction with life quality. Healthcare professionals are encouraged to incorporate abdominal breathing into treatment protocols for patients with non-erosive GERD.

Zinc carnosine-based modified bismuth quadruple therapy vs standard triple therapy for Helicobacter pylori eradication: A randomized controlled study.

BACKGROUND: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is a worldwide problem with increasing burden on the health sector due to its increasing rate of resistance. The conventional triple therapy (TT) is becoming obsolete with a high failure rate of eradication, necessitating the need for better alternatives or regimens. AIM: To investigate H. pylori eradication rate of TT vs modified bismuth quadruple therapy. METHODS: Ninety-two patients with dyspepsia symptoms and positive 13C-urea breath test were randomly assigned to two groups. The first group (control group) was treated for 14 d using standard TT protocol: Esomeprazole (40 mg twice daily), amoxicillin (1 g twice daily) and clarithromycin (500 mg twice daily). On the other hand, the second group was prescribed a 10-d course of modified bismuth quadruple therapy fortified with zinc carnosine: TT in addition to bismuth subcitrate (240 mg twice daily) and zinc carnosine (75 mg twice daily). A repeated 13C-urea breath test was done 4 wk after the completion of the eradication therapy. RESULTS: Among the 92 subjects, 67.4% were males and 32.6% were females. There were no differences in demographic characteristics (age, body mass index, smoking history, previous antibiotics use and ethnicity) between the modified bismuth quadruple therapy group and TT group. The eradication rate was higher [93.5% (43/46)] in the modified bismuth quadruple therapy group compared to 69.6% (32/46) in the standard TT group (P = 0.003). Of the tested predictor variables, only nationality, smoking and therapy type were statistically significant. Besides dizziness, which was recorded in modified bismuth quadruple therapy group, there were no significant differences in side effects between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Ten days of modified bismuth quadruple therapy fortified with zinc carnosine is superior to 14 d of conventional TT in eradicating H. pylori infection, with no additional significant adverse events.

MiR302c, Sp1, and NFATc2 regulate interleukin-21 expression in human CD4+CD45RO+ T lymphocytes.

Interleukin-21 (IL-21) is a cytokine with potent regulatory effects on different immune cells. Recently, IL-21 has been contemplated for use in the treatment of cancers. However, the molecular mechanisms regulating human IL-21 gene expression has not yet been described. In this study, we initially studied the promoter region and identified the transcription start site. We thereafter described the essential region upstream of the transcription start site and showed the in vivo binding of NFATc2 and SP1 transcription factors to this region, in addition to their positive role in IL-21 expression. We also studied the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in regulating IL-21 expression. We, thus, established the miRNA profile of CD4+CD45RO+ versus CD4+CD45RA+ isolated from healthy volunteers and identified a signature composed of 12 differentially expressed miRNAs. We showed that miR-302c is able to negatively regulate IL-21 expression by binding directly to its target site in the 3'-untranslated region. Moreover, after using fresh human CD4-positive T cells, we observed the high acetylation level of histone H4, an observation well in line with the already described high expression of IL-21 in CD4+CD45RO+ versus CD4+CD45RA+ T cells. Altogether, our data identified different molecular mechanisms regulating IL-21 expression.

Phosphoramidate Ligation of Oligonucleotides in Nanoscale Structures.

The folding of long DNA strands into designed nanostructures has evolved into an art. Being based on linear chains only, the resulting nanostructures cannot readily be transformed into covalently linked frameworks. Covalently linking strands in the context of folded DNA structures requires a robust method that avoids sterically demanding reagents or enzymes. Here we report chemical ligation of the 3'-amino termini of oligonucleotides and 5'-phosphorylated partner strands in templated reactions that produce phosphoramidate linkages. These reactions produce inter-nucleotide linkages that are isoelectronic and largely isosteric to phosphodiesters. Ligations were performed at three levels of complexity, including the extension of branched DNA hybrids and the ligation of six scaffold strands in a small origami.

Topical pyruvic acid (70%) versus topical salicylic acid (16.7%) compound in treatment of plantar warts: A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Recurrence rate is considerable with current topical treatments of plantar warts. We compared the efficacy of topical pyruvic acid (70%) with salicylic acid (16.7%) compound in treating multiple plantar warts. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this randomized controlled trial, 60 patients with multiple plantar warts were equally randomized to receive either pyruvic acid 70% or compound salicylic acid solution (salicylic acid 16.7%, lactic acid 16.7%, and collodion 100%) that was topically applied twice a day for 4 weeks. Patients were visited every 2 weeks for 1 month after starting treatment and then every 1 month for another 2 months. The number and size of warts, treatment complications (pain, burning, scar, pigmentation, and crust), and recurrence were evaluated. RESULTS: Warts' number was decreased by -13.12 ± 25.6% with pyruvic acid and by -23.0 ± 28.0% with compound salicylic acid (P = 0.159) after treatment. Warts' size was decreased by -43.47 ± 57.0% with pyruvic acid and by -37.40 ± 32.76% with compound salicylic acid (P = 0.615) after treatment. There was no difference between the two groups in cumulative incidence of treatment complications (P > 0.05). Also, there was no difference between the two groups in recurrence rate at 2 months (10 vs. 16.7%, P = 0.500) or at 3 months after treatment (3.3 vs. 6.7%, P = 0.335). CONCLUSION: Topical pyruvic acid and compound salicylic acid had the same efficacy and complications in treating plantar warts. Decision for choosing the treatment can be made based on the costs and individual factors as well as patients preferences.

PAIgG and PAIgM levels in secondary dengue virus infections lead to thrombocytopenia in patients from KP, Pakistan

Objective: To understand the impact of platelet associated immunoglobulin G (PAIgG)/platelet associated immunoglobulin M (PAIgM) on severity of dengue virus infection leading to thrombocytopenia. Methods: In this study we examined a total of 52 patients who were having secondary infection of dengue in acute phase by using competitive ELISA. Results: A decrease in the platelet count was observed at the acute phase of infection while all along the recovery stage the count of platelet was significantly increased. A significant decrease was observed in PAIgG and PAIgM in these subjects. Inverse correlation was found between platelets count and PAIgG/PAIgM among the subjects studied. In the platelets elution from ten subjects, anti-dengue virus immunoglobulin G and immunoglobulin M were observed. PAIgG and PAIgM with inclined levels were higher in dengue hemorrhagic fever than the classical dengue fever. In the development of dengue hemorrhagic fever PAIgM inclined level was independently associated with high specificity, showing a possible indication of dengue hemorrhagic fever. Conclusions: This study suggests that in secondary dengue virus infection, the PAIgG and PAIgM levels, and the activity of anti-dengue virus play key roles, both in the development and severity of the disease.

M1.3--a small scaffold for DNA origami .

The DNA origami method produces programmable nanoscale objects that form when one long scaffold strand hybridizes to numerous oligonucleotide staple strands. One scaffold strand is dominating the field: M13mp18, a bacteriophage-derived vector 7249 nucleotides in length. The full-length M13 is typically folded by using over 200 staple oligonucleotides. Here we report the convenient preparation of a 704 nt fragment dubbed "M1.3" as a linear or cyclic scaffold and the assembly of small origami structures with just 15-24 staple strands. A typical M1.3 origami is large enough to be visualized by TEM, but small enough to show a cooperativity in its assembly and thermal denaturation that is reminiscent of oligonucleotide duplexes. Due to its medium size, M1.3 origami with globally modified staples is affordable. As a proof of principle, two origami structures with globally 5'-capped staples were prepared and were shown to give higher UV-melting points than the corresponding assembly with unmodified DNA. M1.3 has the size of a gene, not a genome, and may function as a model for gene-based nanostructures. Small origami with M1.3 as a scaffold may serve as a workbench for chemical, physical, and biological experiments.

Quantitative analysis of cefixime via complexation with palladium(II) in pharmaceutical formulations by spectrophotometry.

An optimized and validated spectrophotometric method has been developed for the determination of cefixime in pharmaceutical formulations. The method is based on the complexation reaction between cefixime and palladium ion in the presence of acidic buffer solution (pH 3) in ethanol-distilled water medium at room temperature. The complex absorbed maximally at 352 nm. Beer's law is obeyed in the working concentration range of 2.5-35 µg/mL with apparent molar absorptivity of 1.015×104 L/mol cm and Sandell's sensitivity of 0.001 µg/cm2/0.001 absorbance unit. The limits of detection and quantitation for the proposed method are 0.175 and 0.583 µg/mL, respectively. The effect of common excipients used as additives has been studied in the determination of cefixime. The proposed method has been successfully applied for the determination of cefixime in pharmaceutical formulations. The results obtained by the proposed method were statistically compared with the reference method using t and F values and found no significant difference between the two methods.