8 research outputs found
Coriandrum sativum: A Successful Treatment for Depression Compared to Fluoxetine (An Animal Study)
No full textBackground: Depression is a far more devastating to healthy state than chronic physical illnesses. In many cases, diagnosis of depression is difficult which makes physicians unable to design rational therapeutic prescription. Coriandrum sativum (CS) has been investigated for gastrointestinal related disorders but its association with depression has not been fully explored. The study aimed to evaluate the antidepressant activity of Coriandrum sativum extract with fluoxetine drug in animal models of depression.
Methods: It was a preclinical study. Total 40 mice were divided into 6 groups i.e., Group 1 control (0.9% NaCl I.P), Group 2 Fluoxetine (0.5 mg/kg i.p.), Group 3, 4, 5 Coriandrum sativum (1.6 mg/kg, 3.2 mg/kg, 6.4 mg/kg, respectively). The 3.2mg/kg of CS was the most effective immobility dose which was used for locomotor test. The locomotor test was performed on group 6 (10 mice) after induction of depression via forced swimming test to rule out central nervous system (CNS) stimulatory effect. ANOVA was applied for the Forced Swimming Test (FST) while paired t-test used for locomotor activity. p ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: Fluoxetine and Coriandrum sativum showed statistically significant decrement (p=0.002) reduction in immobility time compared to control animals. The dose of 3.2 mg/kg, CS caused a highly significant reduction in immobility time (p-value 0.001), compared to fluoxetine. Pre- and post-analysis of locomotor activity in Group 6 did not exhibit any significant change in control counts (241.4) compared to test counts (241.5).
Conclusion: The diethyl ether extract of Coriandrum sativum was found to possess antidepressant activity similar to the standard prescription drug.
Keywords: Depression; Forced Swimming Test (FST); Coriandrum sativum (CS) Extract; Fluoxetine
Effects of Solanum nigrum on Liver Enzymes and Hematological Profile in Complete Freund’s Adjuvant-Induced Arthritic Rats
No full textBackground: Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) used for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have steady onset and multiple adverse effects. The objective was to evaluate the effects of ethanolic extract of Solanum nigrum (SN) on methotrexate-associated hepatotoxicity and pancytopenia in Complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA)-induced arthritic rats.
Methods: 30 male Wistar albino rats were used in a 4-week pre-clinical experimental study conducted at Ziauddin University Karachi from November 2021 to December 2021. Animals were divided into 5 groups; Group-I Negative control (0.9% normal saline), Group-II positive control (0.9% normal saline), Group-III Standard (Methotrexate 1.5mg/kg), Group-IV (SN 100mg/kg), Group-V (SN 200mg/kg). To develop arthritis, 0.1mL of CFA was administered intraarticularly in the right knee joints of all groups except Group-I at day 0. For euthanasia, 100mg/kg pentobarbital was injected intraperitoneally in all animals on the 29th day. 10ml of blood was collected in vacutainer tubes for CBC and LFT. SPSS was used to analyze the results and ANOVA was applied for intergroup and intragroup comparisons. A P-value less than 0.05 was considered significant at a 95% confidence interval.
Results: Diseased controls increased WBCs but Group III, IV, and V considerably decreased WBCs. Group III also caused suppression in RBCs and hemoglobin levels. SN showed a significant decrease in WBCs but it did not suppress RBCs, hemoglobin, and platelet levels. MTX significantly increased total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, SGPT, and alkaline phosphate. Contrary to this, SN did not significantly increase liver enzymes when compared with the negative controls.
Conclusion: Unlike methotrexate, ethanolic extract of SN improved the hematological and liver profile
Evaluation of Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Medical and Dental Students and Frontline Health Care Workers
No full textBackground: The recent global crisis afflicted by Coronavirus has led to psychological consequences like anxiety, fear and insecurity among health care workers. Fear of contracting infection and transmitting to close contacts has emerged as a serious concern. Through this study, we aimed to evaluate different psychological sequel experienced by medical and dental students and frontline health workers during COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: A cross sectional online survey was opted using a link platform targeting frontline health care workers and medical students. Data was collected from September until November 2020. Descriptive statistics was used to address demographic characteristics of participants. Associations among selected qualitative variables were determined using Chi square test. All analysis was done by using SPSS and a p value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: A collection of 391 responses was received. There were 266(68%) female and 125(32%) male participants. Vulnerability of family members to COVID-19 was the major concern as reported by 264(67.5%) which was significantly higher among nurses 38(84.4%) and paramedical staff 25(100%) with a p-value <0.001. Around 43(95.6%) nurses and 24 (96%) paramedical staff members were experiencing sleep disturbances p<0.001. Majority 65(90%) physicians had a concern of missing important scientific events. Only 144(36.8%) participants believed vaccination would be effective against COVID-19.
Conclusion: The fear of contracting infection and transmitting to family members has created an overall negative impact on mental health of health care workers. This generates the need to conduct high quality research focusing on addressing measures to promote psychological resilience among health care workers.
Keywords: COVID-19; Anxiety; Mental Health; Pandemics
Cognitive strategies for UAV trajectory optimization: Ensuring safety and energy efficiency in real-world scenarios
No full textMany sectors in aerial transportation use unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAVs) extensively. This becomes even more challenging in complex environments where not only it is required to avoid obstacles, but it also must be maintained for a prolonged period of time. This paper presents a novel approach to increase UAV autonomy through safe and efficient flight trajectory design. An optimization problem is formulated with external and internal safety constraints, and traversing collision free paths. The proposed work offers an energy efficient RRT algorithm, which is used to assess multiple trajectory alternatives. The simulation results confirm the achieved performance in finding the optimal energy path while obeying to the safety constraint. The data and performance metrics, show the system operated in a safe and energy efficient manner. This work provides a unified framework for UAV trajectory planning that guarantees a trade-off between safety and energy efficiency
Cognitive strategies for UAV trajectory optimization: Ensuring safety and energy efficiency in real-world scenarios
No full textMany sectors in aerial transportation use unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAVs) extensively. This becomes even more challenging in complex environments where not only it is required to avoid obstacles, but it also must be maintained for a prolonged period of time. This paper presents a novel approach to increase UAV autonomy through safe and efficient flight trajectory design. An optimization problem is formulated with external and internal safety constraints, and traversing collision free paths. The proposed work offers an energy efficient RRT algorithm, which is used to assess multiple trajectory alternatives. The simulation results confirm the achieved performance in finding the optimal energy path while obeying to the safety constraint. The data and performance metrics, show the system operated in a safe and energy efficient manner. This work provides a unified framework for UAV trajectory planning that guarantees a trade-off between safety and energy efficiency
Recurrent Thrombectomy in Patients with Prior Mechanical Endovascular Revascularization: A Single Center Experience
No full textBackground: Mechanical endovascular reperfusion therapy (MER) has become the standard of care for treatment of large vessel occlusion (LVO) acute ischemic strokes (AIS) with expansion of treatment window to 24 hours from LNW. Nearly 25% of all stroke patients have a recurrent event within 5 years. Intravenous alteplase use in AIS patients with recent ischemic stroke history is often restricted due to the risk of intracranial hemorrhage, however this may not apply for MER. Bouslama et al found no statistically significant differences in the reperfusion rates, hemorrhagic complications, clinical outcomes, and mortality between patients who underwent repeated thrombectomy (RT) and those who had a single thrombectomy. Methods:This was a retrospective case series study of the endovascular database for patients who underwent RT in our institution from March 2016 till March 2018. Demographic data, clinical presentation, imaging, procedural data and clinical outcomes were evaluated. Results:Of the total 145 patients with AIS that received MER, 8 (5.5%) RT occurred in 5 patients. Mean age was 67 ± 21 years. Four of the five patients were females. All five patients achieved successful reperfusion (TICI 2b-3). Three patients underwent one RT, one had two RT, and one had three RT. The average time between consecutive MER (8 total periods) was 106 days. The time between the first to last MER for each patient ranged from 3 days to 2 years. All patients were optimized on their medical therapy after the first stroke. Four of the five patients (80%) had RT in the same vascular territory. One patient had post-procedure focal high-grade stenosis after the 3rd intervention in the same artery that was treated later with elective angioplasty. One RT was complicated with fatal intracranial hemorrhage due to late presentation despite presence of large area of penumbra. 3 months MRS was 2. Conclusion: In patients presented with recurrent LVO, RT appears to be effective and relatively safe. Based on the available literature, prior MER should not discourage aggressive treatment that may potentially lead to a good clinical outcome. It is unclear if prior MER therapies cause endothelial injury leading to a predilection for local in-situ thrombus or denovo stenosis formation predisposing to re-occlusions. The risk of reperfusion injury in a recently infarcted territory should be weighted carefully when considering as hemorrhagic complications remain possible.https://scholarlycommons.henryford.com/merf2019clinres/1031/thumbnail.jp
MOESM1 of Maternal characteristics and outcomes affected by hypothyroidism during pregnancy (maternal hypothyroidism on pregnancy outcomes, MHPO-1)
No full textAdditional file 1: Figure S1. Schematic division of controlled and uncontrolled TSH groups in preconception and gestational periods. TSH units in mIU/
Prophylactic biological mesh reinforcement versus standard closure of stoma site (ROCSS): a multicentre, randomised controlled trial
No full textBackground: Closure of an abdominal stoma, a common elective operation, is associated with frequent complications; one of the commonest and impactful is incisional hernia formation. We aimed to investigate whether biological mesh (collagen tissue matrix) can safely reduce the incidence of incisional hernias at the stoma closure site. Methods: In this randomised controlled trial (ROCSS) done in 37 hospitals across three European countries (35 UK, one Denmark, one Netherlands), patients aged 18 years or older undergoing elective ileostomy or colostomy closure were randomly assigned using a computer-based algorithm in a 1:1 ratio to either biological mesh reinforcement or closure with sutures alone (control). Training in the novel technique was standardised across hospitals. Patients and outcome assessors were masked to treatment allocation. The primary outcome measure was occurrence of clinically detectable hernia 2 years after randomisation (intention to treat). A sample size of 790 patients was required to identify a 40% reduction (25% to 15%), with 90% power (15% drop-out rate). This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02238964. Findings: Between Nov 28, 2012, and Nov 11, 2015, of 1286 screened patients, 790 were randomly assigned. 394 (50%) patients were randomly assigned to mesh closure and 396 (50%) to standard closure. In the mesh group, 373 (95%) of 394 patients successfully received mesh and in the control group, three patients received mesh. The clinically detectable hernia rate, the primary outcome, at 2 years was 12% (39 of 323) in the mesh group and 20% (64 of 327) in the control group (adjusted relative risk [RR] 0·62, 95% CI 0·43–0·90; p=0·012). In 455 patients for whom 1 year postoperative CT scans were available, there was a lower radiologically defined hernia rate in mesh versus control groups (20 [9%] of 229 vs 47 [21%] of 226, adjusted RR 0·42, 95% CI 0·26–0·69; p<0·001). There was also a reduction in symptomatic hernia (16%, 52 of 329 vs 19%, 64 of 331; adjusted relative risk 0·83, 0·60–1·16; p=0·29) and surgical reintervention (12%, 42 of 344 vs 16%, 54 of 346: adjusted relative risk 0·78, 0·54–1·13; p=0·19) at 2 years, but this result did not reach statistical significance. No significant differences were seen in wound infection rate, seroma rate, quality of life, pain scores, or serious adverse events. Interpretation: Reinforcement of the abdominal wall with a biological mesh at the time of stoma closure reduced clinically detectable incisional hernia within 24 months of surgery and with an acceptable safety profile. The results of this study support the use of biological mesh in stoma closure site reinforcement to reduce the early formation of incisional hernias. Funding: National Institute for Health Research Research for Patient Benefit and Allergan
