[This corrects the article DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0249606.].This study aims at developing and characterizing the puerarin dry powder inhaler (DPI) formulations for pulmonary delivery. The inhalable particles size ( less then 2 μm) was accomplished by micronization and its morphology was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The puerarin-excipient interaction in powder mixtures was analyzed by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman confocal microscopy, X-Ray powder Diffraction (XRD), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) methods. Using a Twin stage impinger (TSI), the in-vitro aerosolization of the powder formulations was carried out at a flow rate of 60 L/min and the drug was quantified by employing a validated HPLC method. RMC-4630 No significant interactions between the drug and the excipients were observed in the powder formulations. The fine particle fraction (FPF) of the drug alone was 4.2% which has increased five to six-fold for the formulations with aerosolization enhancers. Formulation containing lactose as large carriers produced 32.7% FPF, which further increased with the addition of dispersibility enhancers, leucine and magnesium stearate (40.8% and 41.2%, respectively). The Raman and FTIR techniques are very useful tool for understanding structural integrity and stability of the puerarin in the powder formulations. The puerarin was found to be compatible with the excipients used and the developed DPI formulation may be considered as an efficient formulation for pulmonary delivery for the management of various diseases at a very low dose.
Acute decompensation (AD) of liver cirrhosis (LC) and subsequent acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) are fatal and impair quality of life. Insufficient knowledge of the highly heterogeneous natural history of LC, including decompensation, re-compensation, and possible recurrent decompensation, hinders the development and application of novel therapeutics. Approximately 10%-50% of AD/ACLF is reported to be precipitated by any indeterminate (unidentifiable, cryptogenic, or unknown) acute insults; however, its clinical characteristics are unclear.
We conducted a single-center observational study of 2165 consecutively admitted patients with LC from January 2012 to December 2019. A total of 466 episodes of AD/ACLF in 285 patients, including their 285 first indexed AD/ACLF, were extracted for analysis. Stratified analyses of different acute precipitants, classified as indeterminate (AD/ACLFIND), bacterial infection (AD/ACLFBAC), gastrointestinal bleeding, active alcoholism, and miscellaneous, were performed.
ent AD/ACLF. An abruptly exacerbating, remitting, and relapsing nature of systemic inflammation underlying AD/ACLF may also be useful for risk estimation.Equine bioenergetics have predominantly been studied focusing on glycogen and fatty acids. Combining omics with conventional techniques allows for an integrative approach to broadly explore and identify important biomolecules. Friesian horses were aquatrained (n = 5) or dry treadmill trained (n = 7) (8 weeks) and monitored for evolution of muscle diameter in response to aquatraining and dry treadmill training, fiber type composition and fiber cross-sectional area of the M. pectoralis, M. vastus lateralis and M. semitendinosus and untargeted metabolomics of the M. pectoralis and M. vastus lateralis in response to dry treadmill training. Aquatraining was superior to dry treadmill training to increase muscle diameter in the hindquarters, with maximum effect after 4 weeks. After dry treadmill training, the M. pectoralis showed increased muscle diameter, more type I fibers, decreased fiber mean cross sectional area, and an upregulated oxidative metabolic profile increased β-oxidation (key metabolites decreased lonA fibers, the predominant fiber type of the horse. These study results underline the importance of reviewing existing paradigms on equine bioenergetics.
Stress is a major health issue in adolescents owing to the important transitions experienced during this period. Aromatherapy is an effective method for the reduction of stress in adolescents.
The aims of this study were to examine the effect of aromatherapy on the regulation of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) along with stress relief and to explore the effect of aromatherapy on adolescents with different levels of stress.
This quasi-experimental study comprised three types of treatments control (no essential oil), pure essential oil therapy (sandalwood), and blended essential oil therapy (sandalwood-lavender). The heart rate variability (HRV) was calculated to evaluate the post-exercise recovery of the ANS to the baseline level in the recruited adolescents. To examine the efficiency of aromatherapy, Friedman test was used to assess the significance of difference in all parameters (i.e., mean heart rate, SDNN, normalized LF, normalized HF, and LF/HF) between baseline and after exercise among the thre compared to the control.
This study demonstrated that aromatherapy could be used for ANS regulation with stress-relieving effects in adolescents. The participants with a low stress level appeared to respond better to the blended essential oil therapy, whereas those with medium to high levels of stress appeared to respond poorly to aromatherapy compared to the control.
Seasonal influenza is a major global health problem causing substantial morbidity and health care costs. Yet, in many countries, the rates of influenza vaccination remain low. Chronic kidney or liver diseases (CKLD) predispose patients to severe influenza infections, but data on vaccination acceptance and status is limited in this risk population. We investigated the influenza vaccination awareness considering sociodemographic factors in CKLD patients.
This cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study recruited CKLD patients managed at three Viennese tertiary care centers between July and October 2020. CKLD was defined as chronic kidney- (all stages) or compensated/decompensated liver disease, including kidney/liver transplant recipients. Questionnaires assessed sociodemographic and transplant- associated parameters, patients vaccination status and the individuals self-perceived risks of infection and associated complications.
In total 516 patients (38.1% female, mean age 56.4 years) were included. 43.9% of patients declared their willingness to be vaccinated in the winter season 2020/2021, compared to 25.RMC-4630
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