Pharmacokinetics and metabolic disposition of 14C-metronidazole-derived radioactivity in rat after intravenous and intravaginal administration

Urinary metabolites and the pharmacokinetics of radioactivity derived from 14C-metronidazole (14C-MTZ) were determined after intravenous (iv) or intravaginal (ivg) administration of 10 mg/kg to adult rats. Following iv or ivg administration, the disappearance of 14C from blood followed the kinetics of a two-compartment open-system model. The blood half-lives of 14C during the beta-phase were 10.9 +/- 1.6 and 13.6 +/- 4.2 hr, after iv and ivg administration, respectively. After ivg application, the MTZ-derived radioactivity was detected in tail blood at 5 min, peaked at 1 hr, declined rapidly to 6 hr and more slowly thereafter. The vaginal absorption half-life of 14C-MTZ was 0.28 +/- 0.09 hr. About 12% of the administered dose remained in the vagina after 1 hr and 1.5% after 24 hr. At 24 hr, the tissue distribution and concentration of 14C were similar in iv and ivg dosed rats, the highest 14C concentration being present in the kidneys and lowest in the fat. The percentages of the dose excreted in 24 hr in the urine and feces were 58 and 15 after iv administration, compared to 37 and 40 after the ivg route, respectively. Unchanged 14C-MTZ and five of its metabolites were detected in the urine irrespective of the route of administration. The results show that metronidazole is rapidly absorbed through the vaginal mucosa of the rat and the metabolism and excretion of this chemotherapeutic agent are influenced by the route of administration.     

Pseudohalogenation of methyl 9-hydroxy-cis-12-and 12-hydroxy-cis-9-octadecenoate

Pseudohalogenation of methyl 9-hydroxy-cis-12-octadecenoate (I) and methyl 12-hydroxy-cis-9-octadecenoate (II) has been carried out with N,N-dibromobenzenesulfonamide (NNDBS). Compounds I and II, on reaction with NNDBS, formed four and three products, respectively. The interesting feature of these reactions was the formation of 1,4-epoxy compounds. The structures of individual compounds were established with the help of elemental and spectral analysis.     

Response of Different Genotypes of Faba Bean Plant to Drought Stress

Drought stress is one of the major abiotic stresses that are a threat to crop production worldwide. Drought stress impairs the plants growth and yield. Therefore, the aim of the present experiment was to select the tolerant genotype/s on the basis of moprpho-physiological and biochemical characteristics of 10 Vicia faba genotypes (Zafar 1, Zafar 2, Shebam, Makamora, Espan, Giza Blanka, Giza 3, C4, C5 and G853) under drought stress. We studied the effect of different levels of drought stress i.e., (i) normal irrigation (ii) mild stress (iii) moderate stress, and (iv) severe stress on plant height (PH) plant⁻¹, fresh weight (FW) and dry weight (DW) plant⁻¹, area leaf⁻¹, leaf relative water content (RWC), proline (Pro) content, total chlorophyll (Total Chl) content, electrolyte leakage (EL), malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) content, and activities of catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) of genotypes of faba bean. Drought stress reduced all growth parameters and Total Chl content of all genotypes. However, the deteriorating effect of drought stress on the growth performance of genotypes “C5” and “Zafar 1” were relatively low due to its better antioxidant enzymes activities (CAT, POD and SOD), and accumulation of Pro and Total Chl, and leaf RWC. In the study, genotype “C5” and “Zafar 1” were found to be relatively tolerant to drought stress and genotypes “G853” and “C4” were sensitive to drought stress.     

An Improved Method for Determining Medium- and Long-Chain FAMEs Using Gas Chromatography

The existing protocols for analyzing fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) using a one-step acetyl chloride (AC) catalyzed transesterification and extraction procedure cannot accurately determine the medium- and long-chain fatty acids simultaneously in clinical (enteral, parenteral) formulations. For example: (1) addition of AC at room temperature generates an exothermic reaction that often results in loss of sample and possible injury to the analyst; (2) certain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are less stable at elevated temperatures during the transesterification and contribute to the over-estimation of the C16:0 and C18:1 fatty acids; and (3) the flame-ionization detector (FID) response varies depending on the carbon chain length of the fatty acids, that consequently impacts the underestimation of medium-chain fatty acid (C6–C10) recoveries. To overcome these deficiencies and accurately determine FAMEs, we have developed an improved one-step transesterification method that employs the addition of AC in tubes kept on a dry ice bath, the transesterification at room temperature, and the data analysis using relative response factors. Using this modified protocol, we determined the fatty acid composition of lipid emulsions (Omegaven^® and Lipidem^®) on a Shimadzu GC2010 gas chromatography (GC) system using a capillary GC column (Zebron ZB-WAX plus, 30 m, 0.25 mm ID, 0.25 μm). Our data suggest that the improved method can be easily used to accurately determine fatty acids (C6–C24) in functional foods and lipid emulsions.     

Hydrolytic Depolymerization of PET in a Microwave Reactor

Recycling of PET was examined using hydrolytic depolymerization in an alkaline solution under microwave irradiation. The reaction was carried out in a sealed microwave reactor in which the pressure and temperature were controlled and recorded. The main products were the monomers TPA and EG. The effect of reaction temperature, time, amount of PET and alkaline concentration on the degree of PET depolymerization and TPA recovery was investigated. Microwave irradiation was found to reduce the time needed to achieve a specific degradation of PET significantly, with almost complete depolymerization occurring in 30 min at 180 °C and only 46 W of microwave power. Using a phase transfer catalyst (TOMAB) resulted in the same amount of unreacted PET but at significantly lower depolymerization temperatures.

     

Model Free Approach for Non-Isothermal Decomposition of Un-Irradiated and γ-Irradiated Silver Acetate: New Route for Synthesis of Ag(2)O Nanoparticles

Kinetic studies for the non-isothermal decomposition of unirradiated and γ-irradiated silver acetate with 10(3) kGy total γ-ray doses were carried out in air. The results showed that the decomposition proceeds in one major step in the temperature range of (180-270 °C) with the formation of Ag(2)O as solid residue. The non-isothermal data for un-irradiated and γ-irradiated silver acetate were analyzed using Flynn-Wall-Ozawa (FWO) and nonlinear Vyazovkin (VYZ) iso-conversional methods. These free models on the investigated data showed a systematic dependence of Ea on α indicating a simple decomposition process. No significant changes in the thermal decomposition behavior of silver acetate were recorded as a result of γ-irradiation. Calcinations of γ-irradiated silver acetate (CH(3)COOAg) at 200 °C for 2 hours only led to the formation of pure Ag(2)O mono-dispersed nanoparticles. X-ray diffraction, FTIR and SEM techniques were employed for characterization of the synthesized nanoparticles.     

Kinetic study of crude oil-to-chemicals via steam-enhanced catalytic cracking in a fixed-bed reactor

This study presents new experimental results on the direct conversion of crude oil to chemicals via steam-enhanced catalytic cracking. We have organized the experimental results with a kinetics model using crude oil and steam co-feed in a fixed-bed flow reactor at reaction temperatures of 625, 650, and 675°C over the Ce-Fe/ZSM-5 catalyst. The model let us find optimum conditions for crude oil conversion, and the order of the steam cracking reaction was 2.0 for heavy oil fractions and 1.0 for light oil fractions. The estimated activation energies for the steam cracking reactions ranged between 20 and 200 kJ/mol. Interestingly, the results from kinetic modelling helped in identifying a maximum yield of light olefins at an optimized residence time in the reactor at each temperature level. An equal propylene and ethylene yield was observed between 650 and 670°C, indicating a transition from dominating catalytic cracking at a lower temperature to a dominating thermal cracking at a higher temperature. The results illustrate that steam-enhanced catalytic cracking can be utilized to effectively convert crude oil into basic chemicals (52.1% C2-C4 light olefins and naphtha) at a moderate severity (650°C) as compared to the conventional high-temperature steam cracking process.     

Morpho-anatomical characterization of some members of euglenophycota (algae) of north-east Punjab,Pakistan based on light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM)

The study was carried out in four districts, that is, Gujranwala, Gujarat, Narowal and Sialkot of Punjab, Pakistan. The sampling was carried out randomly in different seasons from the water bodies especially from wastewater. Twenty-one species belonging to Euglenophycota were identified using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy from which 04 species belong to genus Phacus, 02 species belonging to Trachelomonas and Euglena based on light microscopy. It was observed that Euglena was the most diverse genus and it is supposed to be the indicator species of the polluted water. It was observed that E. oblonga was found in maximum pH range, that is, 7.0–11.0. Similarly, E. brevicaudatus was found in maximum EC, that is, 169 ± 1.5 ms/cm these outcomes indicated that for internal examination along with LM, SEM was necessary for correct identification of algal sample up to specie level.     

Aflatoxin M 1 contamination in commercial samples of milk and dairy products in Kuwait

As part of the programme on monitoring of environmental contaminants in food stuffs in Kuwait, 54 samples of fresh full cream and skimmed milk, powdered milk, yoghurt, and infant formula were analysed for aflatoxin M 1 (AFM 1 ) by HPLC following sample clean up using immuno-affinity columns. Of samples, 28% were contaminated with AFM 1 with 6% being above the maximum permissible limit of 0.2 μg l -1 . Three fresh cow milk samples collected from a private local producer showed the highest level of 0.21 μg l -1 AFM 1 . There was no contamination with AFM 1 in powdered milk and infant formulas. These results show the necessity of a survey involving a larger number of milk and its products and suggest that presently the contamination of milk and milk products with AFM 1 does not appear to be a serious health problem in Kuwait. Nevertheless, a continuous surveillance programme may be warranted to monitor regularly the occurrence of aflatoxins in the animal feeds responsible for current limited contamination and to note rapidly any worsening in the situation that may depend on market changes or on unfavourable climatic developments.