Design, Synthesis and Pharmacological Evaluation of Some C Heterocyclic-Substituted Ciprofloxacin Derivatives as Chimeric Antitubercular Agents.

A series of new C heterocyclic-substituted ciprofloxacin derivatives were prepared from ciprofloxacin acid hydrazide as possible chimeric molecules. They were evaluated for their possible in vitro antibacterial (agar cup/bore diffusion method) and antitubercular (Lowenstein-Jensen (LJ) slant method) activities. The results indicated that all the test compounds are highly effective against all the bacterial strains and have shown excellent anti-tubercular activity against normal, multidrug resistant and extensively drug resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Clinical Predictors of Response to Clozapine in Patients with Treatment Resistant Schizophrenia.

Objectives: Despite clozapine's superior clinical efficacy in Treatment Resistant Schizophrenia (TRS), its adverse effects, need for periodic leukocyte monitoring, cost and variable clinical outcomes make the therapeutic decision making process difficult and mandate a clinical need to predict its treatment response. Hence, we investigated various clinical variables associated with treatment responses and adverse events of clozapine in TRS.

Experimental Design: We assessed socio-demographic and clinical profiles, premorbid adjustment, traumatic life events, cognition, disability, psychopathology and serum clozapine levels of 101 patients with TRS on stable dose of clozapine using the following instruments: Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, Abnormal Involuntary Movements Scale, Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-Revised, WHO Disability Assessment Scale-II, Childhood and Recent Traumatic Events Scale, and Premorbid Assessment Scale.

Induction of oxidative stress in rat epididymal sperm after exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin.

The ability of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo- p-dioxin (TCDD) to induce oxidative stress in various tissues of animals has been reported. The nature and mechanism of action of TCDD on the antioxidant system of sperm has not been studied. In the present study we have sought to investigate whether TCDD induces oxidative stress in the epididymal sperm of rats.

Cytogenetic monitoring of men occupationally exposed to airborne pollutants.

A study of structural chromosomal aberration frequencies in peripheral blood lymphocytes was performed in a group of 20 professional drivers exposed to airborne pollutants and 20 matching controls. The subjects in the latter group were of the same sex (males) and of similar age as the exposed ones, and also had similar habits of smoking and alcohol. A statistically significant increase of chromosomal aberration was observed in the exposed subjects over the control group.

Changes in the activity of 'active' pyruvate dehydrogenase complex in the newborn of normal and diabetic rats.

At birth, hepatic 'active' and 'dichloracetate-activated' pyruvate dehydrogenase complex activities in the newborn of normal, mildly diabetic, and severely diabetic rats were similar. The 'active' and 'dichloracetate-activated' pyruvate dehydrogenase complex activities increased significantly during the first 2 and 6 postnatal h, respectively in the three groups of neonates (p less than 0.05).