BioMed Research International最新文献

The escalating incidence of hospital infections due to antibiotic resistance necessitates the identification of alternative therapeutic agents such as probiotics. This study was designed to isolate and evaluate the efficacy of probiotics against Staphylococcus saprophyticus, a prevalent etiological agent of urinary tract infections (UTIs). A total of 100 S. saprophyticus strains were isolated from clinical samples and subjected to antibiotic susceptibility testing via the disc diffusion method. Concurrently, probiotic bacteria were isolated from Bulgarian cheese and shallot yogurt, and their antibacterial activity against S. saprophyticus strains was assessed. The inhibitory potential of probiotic supernatants was evaluated using microtiter plate assays, with the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) determined at a 1/2 dilution. Cytotoxicity was evaluated using the MTT assay, and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was employed to analyze the concentrations of organic acids produced by the probiotics. The results revealed that all S. saprophyticus strains were resistant to tetracycline and doxycycline but susceptible to other antibiotics. Lactobacillus rhamnosus strains M and B demonstrated notable antibacterial and antibiofilm activity against S. saprophyticus isolates. These probiotics exhibited susceptibility to most antibiotics and lacked virulence factors, suggesting their safety for therapeutic use. The organic acids produced by the probiotics were identified as lactic acid, acetic acid, and formic acid. In conclusion, L. rhamnosus strains M and B exhibit potent antimicrobial properties against S. saprophyticus, indicating their potential as therapeutic agents for UTIs. Further research is warranted to validate these findings and explore the possibility of these probiotics in clinical applications.

Background: Stroke is considered a significant public health concern in sub-Saharan Africa and Ghana due to its impact on quality of life. However, there is a lack of comprehensive pooled data on the prevalence and incidence rates of stroke in Ghana. Updating this information would help inform decision-making bodies on measures to reduce the burden of stroke in Ghana. This systematic review is aimed at critically appraising evidence gathered from studies done in Ghana on the prevalence and incidence rates of stroke among the Ghanaian population. Method: Four databases (CINAHL via EBSCOhost, Web of Science, MEDLINE via PubMed, and PsycINFO via EBSCOhost) were searched, for articles published between May 2000 and May 2020 on stroke burden. The search was constrained to studies conducted in Ghana and published in English that have been peer reviewed. Cochrane risk of bias tool was used to assess the quality of evidence. Meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the pooled stroke prevalence and incidence in the country. Results: A total of three studies that documented 12,974 stroke cases in 1,197,498 participants based on the inclusion criteria were reviewed. The meta-analysis revealed that the overall national prevalence and incidence rate of stroke for the country were 7.96% and 1.17%, respectively, calculated at 95% confidence intervals. Conclusion: According to the review findings, the incidence and prevalence rates of stroke are high in Ghana or among the Ghanaian population, and they are increasing.

Background: Circulating Vaccine-Derived Poliovirus Type 2 (cVDPV2) was isolated in sewage and later in stool samples from children with acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) in northern Ghana. Method: A multidisciplinary and multisectoral team investigated this outbreak and reported on epidemiological and laboratory investigations. Sewage/wastewater samples were collected from the environment, while stool samples were collected from AFP/contact children under 5 years of age. The samples were processed for virus isolation, and positive isolates were sequenced. We also conducted a descriptive investigation involving a review of records, active case search, and Monovalent Oral Polio Vaccine 2 campaigns. Additionally, we interviewed caregivers about the vaccination status of their children, as well as their knowledge on polio prevention. Water quality, sanitation, hygiene practices, and health-seeking behaviours were also assessed. Results: A total of 18 cVDPV2 were confirmed in the three regions of Ghana during the outbreak in 2019-2020. All strains were genetically linked to a Nigerian cVDPV2 strain NIE-KWS-KSB-18-006HC29 that circulated in 2018. Evaluation of the surveillance system shows that officers have good knowledge of AFP and know how to collect samples, package them, and ship them to the laboratory. Few communities had access to potable water. Open defecation was common, and the water supply, sanitation, and hygiene practices of the communities were poor. Conclusion: The cVDPV2 outbreak represents the first time cVDPV2 has circulated in the country since Ghana embarked on the polio eradication program in 1996. However, with quality mOPV2 mop-up campaigns, a nationwide IPV catch-up campaign coupled with enhanced surveillance measures, transmission was interrupted.

Purpose: The purpose of this is to examine the visualization, dynamicity, and collaborative networking of scientific production on visible light (VL) and skin aging through scientometric analysis. Materials and Methods: This research consisted of a cross-sectional and descriptive design with a scientometric approach that examined the publication trends and collaborative patterns among authors and institutions from 2018 to 2023. A comprehensive search strategy was also employed by using specific keywords related to VL and skin aging. In this case, several indicators were employed, including scholarly output, view count, field-weighted citation impact (FWCI), and citation count. The analyses were performed by using SciVal software and R Studio version 4.3.2. Results: A total of 180 sources were identified, with 280 documents generated, indicating an annual growth rate of 6.72%. The documents, averaging 3.25 years in age, received an average of 12.14 citations, revealing their impact. Additionally, collaborations were evident, with a ratio of 5.6 coauthors per paper and 25.71% consisting of international collaborations. In terms of institutions, there were notable disparities in scholarly activities and impact metrics, highlighting the diversity of the research landscape. Meanwhile, journals, such as Photodermatology, Photoimmunology and Photomedicine, revealed a substantial impact (FWCI 2.05). Overall, the impact of the journals showed a general upward trend, reflecting dynamicity and variability over time. Conclusion: An annual growth rate of 6.72% was found, with 180 sources and 280 papers on VL and skin aging. Moreover, international collaborations, the positive impact in leading journals, and the distribution patterns identified through scientometric laws underscored the vitality and complexity of the field. These results offer valuable insights into guiding future research in this multidisciplinary field.

Cancer is a disease resulting from uncontrolled cell division, which significantly contributes to human mortality rates. An alternative approach to cancer treatment, such as cancer immunotherapy, is needed as the existing chemotherapy and radiotherapy approaches target the cancer cells and healthy dividing cells. Vitamin E is a plant-derived lipid-soluble antioxidant with numerous health-promoting benefits, including anticancer and immunomodulatory properties. Vitamin E comprises eight natural isoforms: tocopherols (α, β, δ, and γ) and tocotrienols (α, β, δ, and γ). While initial research focused on the anticancer properties of α-tocopherol, there is growing interest in other natural forms and modified synthetic analogues of vitamin E due to their unique properties and enhanced anticancer effects. Hence, this review is aimed at outlining the effect of vitamin E and its analogues at various steps of the cancer-immunity cycle that can be used to stimulate anticancer immune responses.

Resveratrol (RSV), as a natural polyphenol exhibiting antioxidative properties, is studied in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. However, RSV has low oral bioavailability. In this study and in order to overcome the issue, RSV was encapsulated into the solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs). In this study, RSV-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (RSV-SLNs) were prepared by the solvent emulsification-evaporation technique, and their physicochemical properties were optimized using Box-Behnken response surface methodology. The morphology of the particles was evaluated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The neuroprotective effects of the nanoparticles were investigated in animal models using the Morris water maze (MWM). Then after, the rats were sacrificed, their brains were collected, and the extent of lipid peroxidase (LPO) as well as the level of reduced glutathione (GSH) were determined in the hippocampus section samples. Finally, the collected brain tissues were histologically studied. The particle size, polydispersity index (PDI), zeta potential, entrapment efficiency (EE%), and drug loading (DL%) of the optimized nanoparticles were 104.5 ± 12.3 nm, 0.322 ± 0.11, -3.1 ± 0.15 mV, 72.9 ± 5.31% and 14.6 ± 0.53%, respectively. The microscopic images revealed spherically shaped and nonaggregated nanoparticles. The in vivo studies demonstrated higher efficiency of RSV-SLN in the reduction of escape latency time and improvement in the time spent in the target quadrant compared to free RSV. Moreover, it was demonstrated that RSV-SLN posed a higher potency in the reduction of LPO as well as elevation of the GSH levels in the brain samples. The histological studies revealed a decline in neural degeneration and an improvement in the CA1 pyramidal cell morphology. The obtained data revealed that RSV-SLNs caused more reduction in Alzheimer-related symptoms rather than free RSV.

Backgrounds: Various physiological functions and reaction cascades, as well as disease progression in the living systems, are controlled by the activity of specific proteolytic enzymes. We conducted the study to evaluate protease activity by assessing peptide fragments from either conserved or labeled red blood cells (RBCs) with aminofluorescein (AF) in the reaction media. Methods: RBCs were incubated in media containing trypsin. Subsequently, the concentration of peptide fragments in the reaction media, resulted by the digestion with trypsin from conserved cells, was estimated by 3-(4-carboxybenzoyl)quinoline-2-carboxaldehyde (CBQCA) as an amine-reactive fluorogenic reagent. In a second approach, we conjugated AF to the conserved RBCs and then exposed AF-labeled RBCs to trypsin. This was followed by directly measuring the fluorescence intensity (FI) in the reaction media to estimate the concentration of AF-labeled peptide fragments resulting from the enzyme's activity. Results: Show a concentration- and time-dependent increase in FIs, reflecting the activity of trypsin as a proteolytic enzyme. The FIs increased significantly by 4 to 5 folds in samples treated with different enzyme concentrations, and by over 11 folds after 2 h incubation in media containing a 50 μL trypsin, as evidenced by CBQCA assays. Conclusion: These fast and affordable approaches could be applied with high reliability for the general estimation of protease activity in samples and customized for diagnostic purposes and prognostic evaluation in various diseases.

Three-dimensional printing (3DP) has emerged as a game-changing technology in the pharmaceutical industry, providing novel formulation development in the pharmaceutical sector as a whole, which improved patients' individualized therapy. The pediatric population is among the key targets for individualized therapy. Children are a diverse group that includes neonates, infants, and toddlers, each with unique physiological characteristics. Treatment adherence has a significant impact on safe and effective pharmacotherapy in the pediatric population. Improvement of therapeutic dosage forms that provide for the special demands of the pediatric population is a significant challenge for the pharmaceutical industry. Scientists have actively explored 3DP, a quick prototype manufacturing method that has emerged in recent years from many occupations due to its benefits of modest operation, excellent reproducibility, and vast adaptability. This review illuminates the most widely used 3DP technology and its application in the development of pediatric-friendly drug formulations. This 3DP technology allows optimization of pediatric dosage regimens and cases that require individualized treatment, such as geriatrics, renal impairment, liver impairment, critically ill, pregnancy populations, and drugs with nonlinear pharmacokinetics. The fast evolution of 3DP expertise, in addition to the introduction of pharmaceutical inks, has enormous promise for patient dosage form customization.

Background: Currently, many natural gums are extensively utilized as suspending agents in the formulation of pharmaceutical suspensions. They are easily available, nontoxic, biodegradable, and cost-effective to be used as pharmaceutical excipients. Objective: The present study was aimed at physicochemical characterization and evaluation of the suspending capacity of Boswellia papyrifera gum (BPG) in comparison with sodium carboxy methyl cellulose (SCMC) and tragacanth gum (TG). Methods: The extracted and powdered BPG was subjected to physicochemical properties such as micromeritics, solubility, swelling power, ash value, moisture content, conductivity, pH, and apparent viscosity using standard methods. Metronidazole benzoate suspensions were formulated using various concentrations of BPG, SCMC, and TG (1%-5% w/v). The apparent viscosity, flow rate, sedimentation volume, redispersibility number, pH, and drug content were studied as assessment parameters. Results: The micromeritic studies revealed that BPG exhibited good flow properties. There was also a significant increase in solubility and swelling power of the gum as a function of temperature. The gum had 2.78% ash value and 4.32% moisture content. Conductivity and apparent viscosity of the gum were found to be increased with concentration (p < 0.05). However, the apparent viscosity of BPG was decreased with shear rate (p < 0.05), rendering a pseudoplastic flow property of the gum, which is an ideal characteristic of suspending agents. The suspending capacity of the BPG was found to be comparable to SCMC, but higher than TG. Thus, it can be concluded that BPG could be used as the best alternative to natural and synthetic suspending agents.

Background: 18KHT01 is a novel synergistic composition of Quercus acutissima, Camellia sinensis, Geranium thunbergii, and a small portion of Citrus limon. Our previous report demonstrated that the 18KHT01 exhibits potent antiobesity effects, with synergistic antioxidant, antiadipogenic, and antiobesity activities in diet-induced obese mice. This study explores the toxicity profile and quality control parameters of the 18KHT01 formulation. Methods: Broad-spectrum acute and subacute oral toxicity studies were performed using male and female ICR mice. In order to simultaneous analysis of the 18KHT01 formulation, an ultraperformance liquid chromatography coupled with a diode array detector (UPLC-DAD) method was developed and validated using six marker compounds. Results: Acute oral toxicity evaluation of 18KHT01, administered at single high doses of 2, 2.5, 3, and 5 g/kg, identified 2 g/kg as the no-observed adverse effect level (NOAEL). The LD50 (50% lethal dose) and LD100 (100% lethal dose) of 18KHT01 for male ICR mice were 3.99 and 7.77 g/kg, and those for the female mice were 2.94 and 4.70 g/kg, respectively. In addition, a 30-day repeated dose oral subacute toxicity evaluation indicated that 18KHT01 is safe below 500 mg/kg/day for long-term administration in ICR mice of either sex. UPLC-DAD method validation revealed that each calibration curve for the marker compounds showed good linearity, as well as the validation parameters such as precision, specificity, and accuracy met the acceptance criteria. Conclusion: The present study evidenced the toxicological profile of 18KHT01 polyherbal formulation in mice as well as developed a simple, rapid, and accurate chromatographic method for quality control.