Palmitic acid, verified by lipid profiling using secondary ion mass spectrometry, demonstrates anti-multiple myeloma activity.

Recent studies indicate that lipid metabolic changes affect the survival of multiple myeloma (MM) cells. Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS), an imaging mass spectrometry technique, is used to visualize the subcellular distribution of biomolecules including lipids. We therefore applied this method to human clinical specimens to analyze the membrane fatty acid composition and determine candidate molecules for MM therapies.

In vitro and in vivo anti-inflammatory activity of Phyllanthus acidus methanolic extract.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Phyllanthus acidus (L.) Skeels (Phyllanthaceae) has traditionally been used to treat gastric trouble, rheumatism, bronchitis, asthma, respiratory disorders, and hepatitis. Despite this widespread use, the pharmacological activities of this plant and their molecular mechanisms are poorly understood.

PDK1 disruptors and modulators: a patent review.

Introduction: 3-Phosphoinositide-dependent kinase 1 (PDK1) is a master regulator of the AGC protein kinase family and is a critical activator of multiple pro-survival and oncogenic protein kinases, for which it has garnered considerable interest as an oncology drug target.

Areas Covered: This manuscript reviews small molecule patent literature disclosures between October 2011 and September 2014 for both PDK1 activators and inhibitors and restates the selective patents published before September 2011. PDK1 modulators are organized according to pharmaceutical company and chemical structural class.

Alcohol-induced Hyperlipidemia Is Ameliorated by Orally Administered DWP208, a Sodium Succinate Form of ZYM201.

DWP208 is a sodium succinate form of ZYM-201 which is a triterpenoid glycoside isolated from Sanguisorba officinalis, a medicinal plant prescribed for various diseases, such as duodenal ulcers and bleeding in East Asian counties. We demonstrated that this compound is able to normalize the altered lipid metabolism induced by hyperglycemia and a high fat diet. In this study, we determined whether hyperlipidemic conditions induced with chronically treated alcohol can also be restored by DWP208.

Intravascular large B-cell lymphoma manifesting as cholecystitis: report of an Asian variant showing gain of chromosome 18 with concurrent deletion of chromosome 6q.

Intravascular large B-cell lymphoma (IVLBCL), which involves the lumen of small vessels, is a rare variant of extranodal diffuse large B-cell lymphomas. Herein, we present a case of IVLBCL manifesting as cholecystitis in a 77-year-old Japanese man. He presented with fever, fatigue, and weight loss.

Cadmium and lead in blood cockle (Anadara granosa) from Asajaya, Sarawak, Malaysia.

The concentrations were ranged from 1.35 ± 0.16 to 2.

The effect of participatory women's groups on infant feeding and child health knowledge, behaviour and outcomes in rural Bangladesh: a controlled before-and-after study.

Background: Despite efforts to reduce under-5 mortality rates worldwide, an estimated 6.6 million under-5 children die every year. Community mobilisation through participatory women's groups has been shown to improve maternal and newborn health in rural settings, but little is known about the potential of this approach to improve care and health in children after the newborn period.

In vivo and in vitro anti-inflammatory activities of Persicaria chinensis methanolic extract targeting Src/Syk/NF-κB.

Ethnopharmacologic Relevance: Persicaria chinensis L. (Polygonaceae) [also synonym as Polygonum chimnense L.] has been used as Chinese traditional medicine to treat ulcer, eczema, stomach ache, and various inflammatory skin diseases.

NF-κB/AP-1-targeted inhibition of macrophage-mediated inflammatory responses by depigmenting compound AP736 derived from natural 1,3-diphenylpropane skeleton.

AP736 was identified as an antimelanogenic drug that can be used for the prevention of melasma, freckles, and dark spots in skin by acting as a suppressor of melanin synthesis and tyrosinase expression. Since macrophage-mediated inflammatory responses are critical for skin health, here we investigated the potential anti-inflammatory activity of AP736. The effects of AP736 on various inflammatory events such as nitric oxide (NO)/prostaglandin (PG) E2 production, inflammatory gene expression, phagocytic uptake, and morphological changes were examined in RAW264.

Impact of a participatory intervention with women's groups on psychological distress among mothers in rural Bangladesh: secondary analysis of a cluster-randomised controlled trial.

Background: Perinatal common mental disorders (PCMDs) are a major cause of disability among women and disproportionately affect lower income countries. Interventions to address PCMDs are urgently needed in these settings, and group-based and peer-led approaches are potential strategies to increase access to mental health interventions. Participatory women's health groups led by local women previously reduced postpartum psychological distress in eastern India.

Comparative assessments of crucial factors for a functional ligand-targeted nanocarrier.

We previously developed a ligand-targeted liposome, referred to as a prohibitin-targeted nanoparticle (PTNP), for specifically delivering encapsulated drugs into vascular endothelial cells in adipose tissue. In this study, we explored the critical factors for the successful development and application of ligand-targeted nanocarriers through comparative assessments of PTNP prepared by the reverse-phase evaporation (REV) and lipid film hydration (HYD) methods with reference to physicochemical characteristics and in vivo and in vitro behavior. The in vivo delivery and therapeutic properties of HYD-PTNP were dramatically inferior to those of REV-PTNP, although the size, ζ-potential, fixed aqueous layer thickness and surface ligand density of the two preparations were similar.

Coping strategies of older rural Bangladeshi women with health problems.

In this study we explore the strategies used by older women to cope with their ill health, in order to provide insight into how they might be drawn to use modern health services. We used qualitative methods to collect data from 17 older women living in Bibirchar Union, Sherpur District, Bangladesh. Participants reported that they utilized both emotion-focused and problem-focused strategies, and that many of these were faith-based.

On the occurrence of a Haemogregarinae (Apicomplexa) parasite from freshwater turtles of South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate Haemogregarine parasites (Apicomplexa: Haemogregarinidae) of freshwater turtles (Lissemys punctata andersoni, Geoclemys hamiltonii) of India.

Methods: Turtles were collected by net from two ponds of South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India. A small amount of blood was taken from the subcarapacial vein puncture site.

The effect of increased coverage of participatory women's groups on neonatal mortality in Bangladesh: A cluster randomized trial.

Importance: Community-based interventions can reduce neonatal mortality when health systems are weak. Population coverage of target groups may be an important determinant of their effect on behavior and mortality. A women's group trial at coverage of 1 group per 1414 population in rural Bangladesh showed no effect on neonatal mortality, despite a similar intervention having a significant effect on neonatal and maternal death in comparable settings.

Therapeutic assessment of cytochrome C for the prevention of obesity through endothelial cell-targeted nanoparticulate system.

Because the functional apoptosis-initiating protein, cytochrome C (CytC) is rapidly cleared from the circulation (t1/2 (half-life): 4 minutes), it cannot be used for in vivo therapy. We report herein on a hitherto unreported strategy for delivering exogenous CytC as a potential and safe antiobesity drug for preventing diet-induced obesity, the most common type of obesity in humans. The functional activity of CytC encapsulated in prohibitin (a white fat vessel-specific receptor)-targeted nanoparticles (PTNP) was evaluated quantitatively, as evidenced by the observations that CytC-loaded PTNP causes apoptosis in primary adipose endothelial cells in a dose-dependent manner, whereas CytC alone did not.

Enhancement of reproductive performances of Gangetic leaffish, Nandus nandus through up regulation of serum Ca²⁺ concentration, improved morphological alteration of liver and ovary with dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Incorporation of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) as biofunctional compounds with feed is an effective way for gonadal maturation without any hazardous effects on animal health, and thus it is possible to save the vulnerable species from the danger of extinction. In the present study sperm quality, level of Ca(2+) concentration in serum, histological structure of the liver and developmental stages of ovary of an endangered fish species, Nandus nandus were investigated for the confirmation of the positive effects of PUFAs in reproduction and gonadal maturation. Fishes were collected from Brahmaputra River, Mymensingh, Bangladesh.

Vascular-targeted nanotherapy for obesity: unexpected passive targeting mechanism to obese fat for the enhancement of active drug delivery.

We previously reported that nanoparticles (NPs) modified with a prohibitin-homing peptide ligand via a short PEG(2kDa)-spacer could deliver its pay-load into the cytoplasm of endothelial cells in murine adipose tissue and escape from endosomes/lysosomes in vitro. We herein report, for the first time, on a dual-targeting strategy for mediating the enhanced targeting activity of NPs to adipose endothelial cells in diet-induced obesity (DIO). The targeted accumulation of prohibitin-targeted nanoparticles (PTNP), modified with a peptide ligand via a long PEG-linker, was significantly increased in white fat vessels of normal healthy mice compared to the other non-PEGylated targeted NPs, whereas the undesired accumulation of PTNP in the liver was considerably reduced.

The medicine that might kill the patient: Structural Adjustment and its impacts on health care in Bangladesh.

Over the past decade, reforms of the health sector have evolved as a global phenomenon. There is, by now, a fair literature on the relationship between globalization and health. Within this literature, however, there is relatively little attention given to the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP), one aspect of globalization, and its impact on health.

Rural women's access to health care in Bangladesh: swimming against the tide?

Large segments of the population in developing countries are deprived of a fundamental right: access to basic health care. The problem of access to health care is particularly acute in Bangladesh. One crucial determinant of health seeking among rural women is the accessibility of medical care and barriers to care that may develop because of location, financial requirements, bureaucratic responses to the patient, social distance between client and provider, and the sex of providers.

Ligand-based targeted delivery of a peptide modified nanocarrier to endothelial cells in adipose tissue.

Ligand-based targeted delivery is an emerging platform in nanomedicine. We report herein on a peptide modified nanocarrier for a ligand-based targeted delivery system. The liposomal surface of the carrier was first modified with a linear peptide, followed by an adipose tissue-specific circular peptide (KGGRAKD) via a polyethylene glycol (PEG) spacer.

Isolation and culture of microvascular endothelial cells from murine inguinal and epididymal adipose tissues.

Adipose tissue has long been considered to be a simple tissue that contains adipocytes. Because of this, the isolation and characterization of microvascular endothelical cells, which are also present in adipose tissue, have been neglected, even though they are components of a capillary network that surrounds each individual adipocyte. Here we report on a protocol for producing highly purified murine microvascular endothelial cells (MECs) from diverse sites of murine adipose tissues including inguinal and epididymal adipose tissues.

Effect of topical application of Brazilian propolis on scratching behavior induced by compound 48/80 in mice.

Background And Aim: We investigated the effect of topical application of Brazilian propolis on scratching behavior induced by compound 48/80 in mice.

Results: Propolis inhibited compound 48/80-induced scratching behavior when applied immediately after treatment with propolis at a dose of 3 mg/site. Dibucaine 0.