Hasil untuk "Other systems of medicine"

Zhuang Liu, Scott M. Tabakman, Kevin D. Welsher et al.

Carbon nanotubes exhibit many unique intrinsic physical and chemical properties and have been intensively explored for biological and biomedical applications in the past few years. In this comprehensive review, we summarize the main results from our and other groups in this field and clarify that surface functionalization is critical to the behavior of carbon nanotubes in biological systems. Ultrasensitive detection of biological species with carbon nanotubes can be realized after surface passivation to inhibit the non-specific binding of biomolecules on the hydrophobic nanotube surface. Electrical nanosensors based on nanotubes provide a label-free approach to biological detection. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy of carbon nanotubes opens up a method of protein microarray with detection sensitivity down to 1 fmol/L. In vitro and in vivo toxicity studies reveal that highly water soluble and serum stable nanotubes are biocompatible, nontoxic, and potentially useful for biomedical applications. In vivo biodistributions vary with the functionalization and possibly also size of nanotubes, with a tendency to accumulate in the reticuloendothelial system (RES), including the liver and spleen, after intravenous administration. If well functionalized, nanotubes may be excreted mainly through the biliary pathway in feces. Carbon nanotube-based drug delivery has shown promise in various In vitro and in vivo experiments including delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA), paclitaxel and doxorubicin. Moreover, single-walled carbon nanotubes with various interesting intrinsic optical properties have been used as novel photoluminescence, Raman, and photoacoustic contrast agents for imaging of cells and animals. Further multidisciplinary explorations in this field may bring new opportunities in the realm of biomedicine.

H. Gray, P. L. Williams, L. Bannister

Wenting Ma, Olusola O. Adesope, J. Nesbit et al.

Hatice GÜL, Kezban YİĞİTER

Purpose: This study was conducted to evaluate amputee rehabilitation course content in physiotherapy and rehabilitation curriculum according to International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). Methods: Academicians teaching amputee rehabilitation in the Faculty of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation in Türkiye were included in the study. An online survey was distributed to the academicians via email. The survey includes sociodemographic characteristics and 59 ICF categories. These categories were selected by two experts experienced in research fields related to amputee rehabilitation and the ICF, considering the literature on upper and lower extremity amputee rehabilitation. Academicians were asked whether 59 ICF categories were present in the course content, and simply to answer “yes” or “no” to each question. The Cochran’s Q test was used to identify differences in ICF category frequencies, with pairwise McNemar tests and Bonferroni correction applied for multiple comparisons. Results: Seventy-three academicians (43 females, 30 males; mean age: 39.75±10.99 years) responded to the survey. The categories related to sleep functions, high-level cognitive functions, writing, handling stress and other psychological demands most of the categories about domestic life and interpersonal relationship and environmental factors were mentioned significantly less than the other categories in the course content (p<0.001). Conclusion: Interdisciplinary areas such as sleep, high-level cognitive functions, stress management, domestic life, interpersonal relationships, and environmental factors are not sufficiently emphasised in the course content. The amputee rehabilitation course focuses on areas related to physiotherapy. The results revealed that contents related to interdisciplinary fields and collaborative approaches with other disciplines should be integrated into the amputee rehabilitation course.

Himani Barthwal, Charu Sharma, Vijay Kumar et al.

Recently, the utilization of natural or herbal products has increased worldwide. Various naturally isolated plant products have been assessed as therapeutics for the treatment of a variety of diseases. Microbes are related to medicinal plants and have enormous potential in the context of promoting plant growth traits and producing active ingredients of therapeutic importance. Bacopa monnieri, also called ‘Brahmi’ and water hyssop, has been utilized extensively in the ayurvedic system of medicine for a long time. Phytochemical investigations of B. monnieri extracts have revealed the occurrence of several active compounds, such as bacosides, alkaloids and triterpenoids. All these active chemical ingredients act as the best memory enhancer and are also used for various illnesses. The microbially mediated production of novel secondary metabolites with key biological activities could be an alternative method to obtain bioactive ingredients. This review highlights the interactions between microbes and the medicinal plant B. monnieri, illuminating the creation of biologically active compounds with medicinal importance within the plant.

Francisca Ogochukwu Onukansi, Collins Chibueze Anokwuru, Stanley Chinedu Eneh et al.

Abstract Traditional medicine (TM) has been a cornerstone of healthcare across various cultures, especially in Africa, where it has played an integral role in the management of diseases such as malaria. Despite the popularity and historical significance of TM, scientific validation remains a key challenge, hindering its widespread acceptance in modern healthcare systems. This study explores the potential of traditional African medicine, particularly in the context of Nigeria, as a vital resource in the fight against malaria. Drawing on the success of plants like Artemisia annua in the development of modern anti-malarial drugs, the research emphasizes the need for comprehensive investment in TM research. With Nigeria facing the highest malaria burden globally, the research advocates for increased funding, scientific investigations into the efficacy of traditional remedies, and enhanced regulation of herbal medicine. The paper also highlights the growing trust and reliance on herbal remedies in rural areas of Nigeria and the importance of ensuring their safety through pharmacological testing. This study examines these issues through an analysis of existing literature, historical applications, and documented successes of herbal treatments. By integrating traditional medicine into national health systems, Nigeria could unlock new strategies for combating malaria and other infectious diseases, advancing toward sustainable health outcomes.

E. Bloch, Y. Luo, L. da Cruz

Retinal prosthesis systems have undergone significant advances in the past quarter century, resulting in the development of several different novel surgical and engineering approaches. Encouraging results have demonstrated partial visual restoration, with improvement in both coarse objective function and performance of everyday tasks. To date, four systems have received marketing approval for use in Europe or the United States, with numerous others undergoing preclinical and clinical evaluation, reflecting the established safety profile of these devices for chronic implantation. This progress represents the first notion that the field of visual restorative medicine could offer blind patients a hope of real and measurable benefit. However, there are numerous complex engineering and biophysical obstacles still to be overcome, to reconcile the gap that remains between artificial and natural vision. Current developments in the form of enhanced image processing algorithms and data transfer approaches, combined with emerging nanofabrication and conductive polymerization techniques, herald an exciting and innovative future for retinal prosthetics. This review provides an update of retinal prosthetic systems currently undergoing development and clinical trials while also addressing future challenges in the field, such as the assessment of functional outcomes in ultra-low vision and strategies for tackling existing hardware and software constraints.

Rajesh Bolleddu, Sama Venkatesh, Ch. V Narasimhaji et al.

Introduction: Carissa carandas (Apocynaceae), a renowned Ayurvedic plant, called as Karamarda in Sanskrit, and its fruits are reported to possess significant anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, antiviral, antipyretic, and cardiotonic activities. The present investigation aimed for preliminary phytochemical, chromatographic studies and antioxidant activity of C. carandas fruits aqueous extract. Methods: Preliminary phytochemical studies, total flavonoid, and phenolic contents were established according to standard methods. Further, the aqueous extract was screened against free radicals, such as diphenyl picrylhydrazyl radical and nitric oxide radical. Further, its radical scavenging power was confirmed by phosphomolybdenum (total antioxidant activity) and reducing power assay. Results: C. carandas fruits aqueous extract showed significant antioxidant properties in nitric oxide (IC50-70 μg/ml), diphenyl picryl hydrazyl radical scavenging activity (IC50-800 μg/ml), and results are comparable with standard samples. Increasing concentration of fruit aqueous extract showed considerable reducing power and total antioxidant activity. The observed total phenols (50 mg GAE/g) and flavonoids (12 mg RE/g) present in aqueous extract is accountable for its antioxidant potential. High-performance thin-layer chromatography screening revealed that the aqueous extract is having different phytoconstituents with different Rf (Retention Factor) values and established the fingerprint profile for the identification of C. carandas fruits. Conclusion: The current phytochemical and chromatographic analysis can be considered reference standards for future studies on C. carandas fruits. Further study is required for the isolation of bioactive natural antioxidant from C. carandas fruits.

Qiao Jin, Fangyuan Chen, Yiliang Zhou et al.

Recent studies indicate that Generative Pre-trained Transformer 4 with Vision (GPT-4V) outperforms human physicians in medical challenge tasks. However, these evaluations primarily focused on the accuracy of multi-choice questions alone. Our study extends the current scope by conducting a comprehensive analysis of GPT-4V's rationales of image comprehension, recall of medical knowledge, and step-by-step multimodal reasoning when solving New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) Image Challenges - an imaging quiz designed to test the knowledge and diagnostic capabilities of medical professionals. Evaluation results confirmed that GPT-4V performs comparatively to human physicians regarding multi-choice accuracy (81.6% vs. 77.8%). GPT-4V also performs well in cases where physicians incorrectly answer, with over 78% accuracy. However, we discovered that GPT-4V frequently presents flawed rationales in cases where it makes the correct final choices (35.5%), most prominent in image comprehension (27.2%). Regardless of GPT-4V's high accuracy in multi-choice questions, our findings emphasize the necessity for further in-depth evaluations of its rationales before integrating such multimodal AI models into clinical workflows.

Justin H. Porter, Matthew R. W. Brake

Many modern engineering structures exhibit nonlinear vibration. Characterizing such vibrations efficiently is critical to optimizing designs for reliability and performance. For linear systems, steady-state vibration occurs only at the forcing frequencies. However, nonlinearities (e.g., contact, friction, large deformation, etc.) can result in nonlinear vibration behavior including superharmonics - responses at integer multiples of the forcing frequency. When the forcing frequency is near an integer fraction of the natural frequency, superharmonic resonance occurs, and the magnitude of the superharmonics can exceed that of the fundamental harmonic that is externally forced. Characterizing such superharmonic resonances is critical to improving engineering designs. The present work extends the concept of phase resonance nonlinear modes (PRNM) to be applicable to general nonlinearities, and is demonstrated for eight different nonlinear forces. The considered forces include stiffening, softening, contact, damping, and frictional nonlinearities that have not been previously considered with PRNM. The proposed variable phase resonance nonlinear modes (VPRNM) method can accurately track superharmonic resonances for hysteretic nonlinearities that exhibit amplitude dependent phase resonance conditions that cannot be captured by PRNM. The proposed method allows for characterization of superharmonic resonances without constructing a full frequency response curve at every force level with the harmonic balance method. Thus, the present method allows for analysis of potential failures due to large amplitudes near the superharmonic resonance with reduced computational cost. The consideration of single degree of freedom systems in the present paper provides insights into superharmonic resonances and a basis for understanding internal resonances for multiple degree of freedom systems.

A. Elsheikh, M. A. Elaziz, M. A. Elaziz

S. Paroha, Juhi Verma, R. Dubey et al.

Cancer is a community health hazard which progress at a fatal rate in various countries across the globe. An agent used for chemotherapy should exhibit ideal properties to be an effective anticancer medicine. The chemotherapeutic medicines used for treatment of various cancers are, gemcitabine, paclitaxel, etoposide, methotrexate, cisplatin, doxorubicin and 5-fluorouracil. However, many of these agents present nonspecific systemic toxicity that prevents their treatment efficiency. Of all, Gemcitabine has shown to be an active agent against colon, pancreatic, colon, ovarian, breast, head and neck and lung cancers in amalgamation with various anticancer agents. Gemcitabine is considered a gold-standard and the first FDA approved agent used as a monotherapy in management of advanced pancreatic cancers. However due to its poor pharmacokinetics, there is need of newer drug delivery system for efficient action. Nanotechnology has shown to be an emerging trend in field of medicine in providing novel modalities for cancer treatment. Various nanocarriers have the potential to deliver the drug at the desired site to obtain information about diagnosis and treatment of cancer. This review highlights on various nanocarriers like polymeric nanoparticles, solid lipid nanoparticles, mesoporous silica nanoparticles, magnetic nanoparticles, micelles, liposomes, dendrimers, gold nanoparticles and combination approaches for delivery of gemcitabine for cancer therapy. The co-encapsulation and concurrent delivery of Gem with other anticancer agents can enhance drug action at the cancer site with reduced side effects.

Yongchun Huang, Jie Zhang, Pengxiang Zhao et al.

Objective: To investigate the pharmacological action and mechanism of cholic acid derivatives in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) based on the regulation of gene expression. Methods: Genome-wide gene expression profiles of Michigan Cancer Foundation-7 (MCF-7) cells treated with or without 4 cholic acid derivatives were detected by gene chip technology. Similarities in upregulated and downregulated genes were analyzed using the Connectivity Map (CMap) database. The affinity between cholic acid derivatives and the potential target was confirmed by molecular docking. The cholic acid derivative-regulated pathway enrichment analysis was performed by the STRING database, and the potential pathway was confirmed by in vitro experiments on MD Anderson-Metastatic Breast-231 (MDA-MB-231) cells. Results: Compared with the reference genome in the CMap database, the gene expression profiles of cholic acid derivatives were similar to those of antipsychotic, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and anti-infective drugs. Among them, 4 derivatives were associated with antianxiety drugs, and molecular docking results showed that these compounds may act by binding to the ligand-binding site of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors. Moreover, the cytoskeletal pathway is one of the pathways enriched in the derivatives. Of them, ursodeoxycholic acid showed significant inhibitory activity on the cytoskeleton formation of MDA-MB-231 cells. Conclusion: The gene expression detection method, combined with CMap and pathway enrichment analysis, could be used to study the mechanism of the active ingredients of TCM. In addition, our research showed that cholic acid derivatives have a potential affinity for membrane receptors, where they can exert anxiolytic activity by modulating opioid receptor, GABA receptor, and dopamine receptor. Moreover, ursodeoxycholic and chenodeoxycholic acid inhibit cytoskeleton formation, probably by acting on membrane proteins to activate the corresponding cytoskeletal pathways.

Zongshi Qin, Zhiwei Zang, Jianyong Yu et al.

Abstract Background Hot flashes are the common and debilitating symptom among prostate cancer (PCa) patients undergoing androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Strong evidence from multiple rigorously designed studies indicated that pharmacological option such as venlafaxine provides partial relief, but the tolerability is poor when dose is not tapered. Hence, alternative therapy is needed. Previous studies reported that acupuncture may be helpful in the management of hot flashes. However, the insufficient randomized controlled trial limited the quality of evidence. Methods Five hospitals will recruit 120 acupuncture naïve patients with moderate-to-severe hot flashes after prostate cancer received ADT in China from February 2023 to December 2024. Participants will be randomly 2:1:1 allocated to the 18 sessions of verum acupuncture at true acupuncture points plus usual care, 18 sessions of non-penetrating sham acupuncture at non-acupuncture points plus usual care, or usual care alone over 6 weeks. The primary outcome measure is the change of mean weekly hot flashes symptom severity score (HFSSS) at the end of treatment compared with baseline. Expected Results and Conclusion We will be able to measure the effectiveness of acupuncture for patients with PCa suffering from ADT-induced hot flashes and whether acupuncture is superior to sham acupuncture and usual care. The proposed acupuncture treatment might provide an alternative option for those patients. Trial Registration Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT05069467).

Avijit Dutta, Sung-Han Hsiao, Chen-Yiu Hung et al.

Background: H1N1 influenza viruses are the leading cause of severe respiratory virus infections worldwide. Resistance to the current selections of anti-influenza agents are still of concern. The Zingiber officinale root is one of the most heavily consumed dietary substances. It is also been traditionally used against common cold in Ayurveda and Chinese herbal medicine. Purpose: Investigation on in vitro and in vivo effect of [6]-gingerol from Zingiber officinale against influenza virus infection. Methods: In vitro antiviral property of [6]-gingerol was measured by the plaque reduction assay in which MDCK cells were infected with PR8 strain of H1N1 influenza A virus in the presence of gingerol. Gingerol-mediated inhibition of influenza neuraminidase activity was tested by MUNANA assay in vitro. In vivo activity was tested in PR8 strain of H1N1 influenza virus infected mice. Modulation of anti-influenza immunity was tested by the study of hemagglutinin-specific T cells in vivo. Results: [6]-Gingerol significantly reduced in vitro infection by PR8 strain of H1N1 influenza virus, with an IC50 value 2.25±0.18 μM. The inhibition was associated with the inhibition of viral neuraminidase activity, over 75% of the NA enzymatic activity of 2.5 × 103 PFUs of PR8 strain influenza virus at a concentration of 2 μM. Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) served as a positive control, which inhibited the NA enzymatic activity with an IC50 value of 1.88±0.05 μM. In H1N1 influenza virus infected mice, gingerol treatment (oral, once daily for 5 days) reduced virus load in the lungs and attenuated body weight loss and mortality. Gingerol inhibited viral neuraminidase-mediated intracellular TGF-β activation of lung-infiltrating CD4+ T cells. With the constrained active-TGF-β and immune suppression, influenza hemagglutinin-specific Th1 and Th17 immunity was increased. Conclusion: [6]-Gingerol from Z. officinale is a potent anti-influenza compound that inhibits viral neuraminidase activity and boosts hemagglutinin-specific CD4+ T cell response to the infection. Taken together, gingerol has the potential to be further evaluated for clinical applications in human influenza.

Jieqi Cai, Yupeng Chen, Kexin Wang et al.

Abstract Background Lung cancer is a malignant tumour with the fastest increase in morbidity and mortality around the world. The clinical treatments available have significant side effects, thus it is desirable to identify alternative modalities to treat lung cancer. Shashen Maidong decoction (SMD) is a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula for treating lung cancer in the clinic. While the key functional components (KFC) and the underlying mechanisms of SMD treating lung cancer are still unclear. Methods We propose a new integrated pharmacology model, which combines a novel node-importance calculation method and the contribution decision rate (CDR) model, to identify the KFC of SMD and to deduce their mechanisms in the treatment of lung cancer. Results The enriched effective Gene Ontology (GO) terms selected from our proposed node importance detection method could cover 97.66% of enriched GO terms of reference targets. After calculating CDR of active components in key functional network, the first 82 components covered 90.25% of the network information, which were defined as KFC. 82 KFC were subjected to functional analysis and experimental validation. 5–40 μM protocatechuic acid, 100–400 μM paeonol or caffeic acid exerted significant inhibitory activity on the proliferation of A549 cells. The results show that KFC play an important therapeutic role in the treatment of lung cancer by targeting Ras, AKT, IKK, Raf1, MEK, and NF-κB in the PI3K-Akt, MAPK, SCLC, and NSCLC signaling pathways active in lung cancer. Conclusions This study provides a methodological reference for the optimization and secondary development of TCM formulas. The strategy proposed in this study can be used to identify key compounds in the complex network and provides an operable test range for subsequent experimental verification, which greatly reduces the experimental workload.

Christian Fiedler, Michael Herty, Sebastian Trimpe

Mean field limits are an important tool in the context of large-scale dynamical systems, in particular, when studying multiagent and interacting particle systems. While the continuous-time theory is well-developed, few works have considered mean field limits for deterministic discrete-time systems, which are relevant for the analysis and control of large-scale discrete-time multiagent system. We prove existence results for the mean field limit of very general discrete-time control systems, for which we utilize kernel mean embeddings. These results are then applied in a typical optimal control setup, where we establish the mean field limit of the relaxed dynamic programming principle. Our results can serve as a rigorous foundation for many applications of mean field approaches for discrete-time dynamical systems.

Nikolaos Kondylidis, Ilaria Tiddi, Annette ten Teije

We propose a method that allows to develop shared understanding between two agents for the purpose of performing a task that requires cooperation. Our method focuses on efficiently establishing successful task-oriented communication in an open multi-agent system, where the agents do not know anything about each other and can only communicate via grounded interaction. The method aims to assist researchers that work on human-machine interaction or scenarios that require a human-in-the-loop, by defining interaction restrictions and efficiency metrics. To that end, we point out the challenges and limitations of such a (diverse) setup, while also restrictions and requirements which aim to ensure that high task performance truthfully reflects the extent to which the agents correctly understand each other. Furthermore, we demonstrate a use-case where our method can be applied for the task of cooperative query answering. We design the experiments by modifying an established ontology alignment benchmark. In this example, the agents want to query each other, while representing different databases, defined in their own ontologies that contain different and incomplete knowledge. Grounded interaction here has the form of examples that consists of common instances, for which the agents are expected to have similar knowledge. Our experiments demonstrate successful communication establishment under the required restrictions, and compare different agent policies that aim to solve the task in an efficient manner.

Yu Zheng, Qingxuan Xie, Hong Wang et al.

Plant polysaccharides with multiple biological activities and health benefit effects are usually considered as natural active macromolecules in food and medicine dual purposes plant. Nerveless, there are still some problems with plant polysaccharides, such as the lack of concentration in the range of action, poor stability, rapid blood clearance and poor targeting, which affect the bioavailability and clinical application of plant polysaccharides. Over the last decade, researchers have increasingly turned their attention toward understanding the role of plant polysaccharides in normal cellular function and in disease, while opening up new research fronts in designing and developing nanomaterial delivery systems for the treatment of cancer, immune diseases and other diseases using plant polysaccharides as a carrier or object drug. However, deficiencies of NDDS research limits the application of polysaccharides in disease treatment. Herein, advances in the application of plant polysaccharides in nano-based drug delivery systems are reviewed. In addition, the further research on plant polysaccharides in nanotechnology was prospected.

E. Berner, T. Lande