Herbal medicines currently represent an important part of the world pharmaceutical market, which shows growing interest in the use of herbal medicines. However, the production of such medicines ...involves a complex series of steps, which determine the production viability and the quality of the final product. Ximenia americana L. is a plant occurring in several regions of the world, with well-known and applied medicinal properties. Thus, the aim of this work was to develop and evaluate the physical and physical-chemical quality of tablets produced with X. americana L. extract. The extract was spray-dried from a hydroethanolic extractive solution and characterized as to its phytochemical composition. The chemical marker was determined and quantified using validated chromatographic methods. These methods indicated the presence of gallic acid at a concentration of 1.61 mg g(-1). Formulations were proposed and analyzed for their flow and compaction properties. The best formulation was used to obtain a batch of tablets, which was evaluated for its quality characteristics and showed to be within the pharmacopoeial specifications for average weight, hardness, friability, and disintegration time. The dissolution profile of the tablets produced was obtained, showing the release of about 70% of the vegetable extract content within 30 minutes. Results showed that it was possible to obtain herbal tablets containing a high content of vegetal extract by direct compression, developing a rapid process of formulation and production and guaranteeing the quality characteristics of the final product.
Poincianella pyramidalis (Tul.) LP Queiroz (Fabaceae) is an endemic tree of northeastern Brazil, occurring mainly in the Caatinga. Its medicinal use is widespread and is an important therapeutic ...option against diarrhea, dysentery, and respiratory and urinary infections, among other diseases. In this study we determined the chemical marker and evaluated the interaction between P. pyramidalis extract and a commercial antimicrobial through the use of biological and analytical models. To obtain the extract, an ethanol-water mixture (50:50 v/v) was used as solvent. It was nebulized in a spray dryer using colloidal silicon dioxide as a drying adjuvant. The extract (ENPp) was subjected to HPLC analysis to verify the presence of certain secondary metabolites. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of the extract against Gram-negative bacteria was determined by broth microdilution and the MIC of synthetic antimicrobial drugs in the presence and absence of the extract. The antioxidant activity of ENPp was evaluated by the DPPH method. The compatibility between the antimicrobial and the extract was evaluated by thermal analysis (TG/DTA). The acute toxicity of the extract was evaluated in vivo in rodents. The results indicate significant additive action of the extract on synthetic antibiotics, considerable antioxidant activity and absence of toxicity. This extract shows high potential for the development of formulations for antimicrobial therapy when used with a vegetable-active ingredient.
Abstract Dental caries and periodontal disease are the most prevalent of the biofilm-dependent diseases. With numerous side effects on the use of chlorhexidine, the search for new safe therapeutic ...alternatives for microorganisms involved with these diseases increases every day. This study aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity of extracts made from the bark of Schinopsis brasiliensis Engl. against five oral microorganisms and analyze their phytochemical and thermal degradation profile. The liquid-liquid partition was performed with hexane, chloroform and ethyl acetate. The identification and quantification of the chemical marker was done. Antimicrobial activity was evaluated based on the minimum inhibitory concentration. The cytotoxicity was analyzed based on the hemolysing potential of the samples. The thermal degradation profile was performed by two different methods. Gallic acid was identified as the main compound of the samples and showed the highest amount in the chloroform fraction. All samples were able to inhibit the growth of the microorganisms tested and showed no cytotoxicity. The ethanol extract absorbs less heat than the fractions. All samples exhibited exothermic peak consistent with degradation of gallic acid. Based on the results, the samples used are potential candidates for use in dental formulations for biofilm control.
Dexamethasone is a glucocorticoid drug used for the treatment of acute and chronic inflammatory conditions, autoimmune diseases, some cancers, and several other pathologies. It is widely marketed ...worldwide especially under solid dosage forms. This study aimed to assess its compatibility with solid pharmaceutical excipients. Compatibility study was conducted through the preparation of binary mixtures (1:1, w/w) of dexamethasone with 12 selected excipients. Binary mixtures were analyzed by thermoanalytical techniques (thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. TG curves pointed only slight anticipations of dexamethasone decomposition. DTA curves showed interactions signs with microcrystalline cellulose 101 and 102, magnesium stearate, mannitol, and polyvinylpyrrolidone. Drug infrared absorption profile was not affected by the mixture with most excipients. X-ray diffractograms of all binary mixtures did not exhibit signs of interactions with changes of dexamethasone crystalline state. These results pointed that the interactions found by DTA technique were probably heat-induced. Therefore, the above-mentioned excipients should be carefully used in solid dosage forms with heat-based manufacturing processes.
•Flexibility training has distinct responses depending on how MP is evaluated.•Flexibility training may be beneficial for tasks involving SSC.•Flexibility training does not seem to produce any ...improvements on static MP.•Chronic stretching does not impair MP.
The aim of the current study was to investigate the influence of chronic stretching on muscle performance (MP) by a systematic review. The search strategy included MEDLINE, PEDro, Cochrane CENTRAL, LILACS, and manual search from inception to June 2016. Randomized and controlled clinical trials, non-randomized, and single group studies that have analyzed the influence of flexibility training (FT) (using any stretching technique) on MP were included. Differently, studies with special populations (children, elderly, and people with any dysfunction/disease), and articles that have used FT protocols shorter than three weeks or 12 sessions were excluded. The MP assessment could have been performed by functional tests (e.g. jump, sprint, stretch-shortening cycle tasks), isometric contractions, and/or isotonic contractions. Twenty-eight studies were included out of 513. Seven studies evaluated MP by stretch-shortening cycle tasks, Ten studies evaluated MP by isometric contractions, and 13 studies assessed MP by isotonic contractions. We were unable to perform a meta-analysis due to the high heterogeneity among the included studies. In an individual study level analysis, we identified that 14 studies found positive effects of chronic stretching on MP. The improvements were observed only in functional tests and isotonic contractions, isometric contractions were not affected by FT. Therefore, FT might have an influence on dynamic MP. However, more studies are necessary to confirm whether FT can positively affect MP.
The size of bacterial genomes is often associated with organismal metabolic capabilities determining ecological breadth and lifestyle. The recently proposed Candidate Phyla Radiation ...(CPR)/Patescibacteria encompasses mostly unculturable bacterial taxa with relatively small genome sizes with potential for co‐metabolism interdependencies. As yet, little is known about the ecology and evolution of CPR, particularly with respect to how they might interact with other taxa. Here, we reconstructed two novel genomes (namely, Candidatus Saccharibacter sossegus and Candidatus Chaer renensis) of taxa belonging to the class Saccharimonadia within the CPR/Patescibacteria using metagenomes obtained from acid mine drainage (AMD). By testing the hypothesis of genome streamlining or symbiotic lifestyle, our results revealed clear signatures of gene losses in these genomes, such as those associated with de novo biosynthesis of essential amino acids, nucleotides, fatty acids and cofactors. In addition, co‐occurrence analysis provided evidence supporting potential symbioses of these organisms with Hydrotalea sp. in the AMD system. Together, our findings provide a better understanding of the ecology and evolution of CPR/Patescibacteria and highlight the importance of genome reconstruction for studying metabolic interdependencies between unculturable Saccharimonadia representatives.
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has the potential to improve cancer treatment by providing dual selectivity through the use of both photoactive agent and light, with the goal of minimal harmful effects ...from either the agent or light alone. However, current PDT is limited by insufficient photosensitizers (PSs) that can suffer from low tissue penetration, insufficient phototoxicity (toxicity with light irradiation), or undesirable cytotoxicity (toxicity without light irradiation). Recently, we reported a platform for decoupling optical and electronic properties with counterions that modulate frontier molecular orbital levels of a photoactive ion. Here, we demonstrate the utility of this platform in vivo by pairing near-infrared (NIR) photoactive heptamethine cyanine cation (Cy+), which has enhanced optical properties for deep tissue penetration, with counterions that make it cytotoxic, phototoxic, or nontoxic in a mouse model of breast cancer. We find that pairing Cy+ with weakly coordinating anion FPhB– results in a selectively phototoxic PS (CyFPhB) that stops tumor growth in vivo with minimal side effects. This work provides proof of concept that our counterion pairing platform can be used to generate improved cancer PSs that are selectively phototoxic to tumors and nontoxic to normal healthy tissues.
Laser flash photolysis coupled with laser-induced fluorescence observation of OH has been used to observe the equilibration of OH + C2H4 ↔ HOC2H4 over the temperature range 563–723 K and pressures of ...bath gas (N2) from 58 to 250 Torr. The time-resolved OH traces have been directly and globally fitted with a master equation in order to extract ΔR H 0 0, the binding energy of the HOC2H4 adduct, with respect to reagents. The global approach allows the role that OH abstraction plays at higher temperatures to be identified. The resultant value ofΔR H 0 0, 111.8 kJ mol–1, is determined to be better than 2 kJ mol–1 and is in agreement with our ab initio calculations (carried out at the CCSD(T)/CBS//M06-2X/aug-cc-pVTZ level), 111.4 kJ mol–1, and other state of the art calculations. Parameters for the abstraction channel are also in good agreement with previous experimental studies. To effect this analysis, the MESMER master equation code was extended to directly incorporate secondary chemistry: diffusional loss from the observation region and reaction with the photolytic precursor. These extensions, which, among other things, resolve issues related to the merging of chemically significant and internal energy relaxation eigenvalues, are presented.
The Fossil Lake deposits of the Green River Formation of Wyoming, a remarkable early Eocene Lagerstätte (51.98 ±0.35 Ma), have produced nearly 30 bat fossils over the last 50 years. However, ...diversity has thus far been limited to only two bat species. Here, we describe a new species of Icaronycteris based on two articulated skeletons discovered in the American Fossil Quarry northwest of Kemmerer, Wyoming. The relative stratigraphic position of these fossils indicates that they are the oldest bat skeletons recovered to date anywhere in the world. Phylogenetic analysis of Eocene fossil bats and living taxa places the new species within the family Icaronycteridae as sister to Icaronycteris index, and additionally indicates that the two Green River archaic bat families (Icaronycteridae and Onychonycteridae) form a clade distinct from known Old World lineages of archaic bats. Our analyses found no evidence that Icaronycteris? menui (France) nor I. sigei (India) belong to this clade; accordingly, we therefore remove them from Icaronycteridae. Taken in sum, our results indicate that Green River bats represent a separate chiropteran radiation of basal bats, and provide additional support for the hypothesis of a rapid radiation of bats on multiple continents during the early Eocene.
Nowadays, state-of-the-art direct visual odometry (VO) methods essentially rely on points to estimate the pose of the camera and reconstruct the environment. Direct Sparse Odometry (DSO) became the ...standard technique and many approaches have been developed from it. However, only recently, two monocular plane-based DSOs have been presented. The first one uses a learning-based plane estimator to generate coarse planes as input for optimization. When these coarse estimates are too far from the minimum, the optimization may fail. Thus, the entire system result is dependent on the quality of the plane predictions and restricted to the training data domain. The second one only detects planes in vertical and horizontal orientation as being more adequate to structured environments. To the best of our knowledge, we propose the first Stereo Plane-based VO inspired by the DSO framework. Differing from the above-mentioned methods, our approach purely uses planes as features in the sliding window optimization and uses a dual quaternion as pose parameterization. The conducted experiments showed that our method presents a similar performance to Stereo DSO, a point-based approach.
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