Water and sediment samples were collected from five different stations, located along the Djendjen River between February and June 2016. Concentrations of Cd, Ni, Zn, and Cu were determined. The extent of the sediment pollution was assessed, using the multiple pollution indices, namely contamination factor (CF), pollution load index (PLI), and the geoaccumulation index (Igeo).\nThe results showed that the concentrations of trace elements were lower in water than in the sediment. The distribution of trace elements in water and sediment follows: Ni>Zn>Cd>Cu and Zn>Ni>Cu>Cd, respectively. The water sample analysis from the Djendjen River shown that the total concentrations of Cu, Ni, Cd, and Zn were lower according to the references. In comparison, sediment mean metal concentrations with several environmental contamination parameters, such as: probable effect level (PEC) and background levels, indicates that the concentrations of all investigated elements are less than PEC except Ni, but high than the background levels. The Igeo values revealed that Cd (1.28) had accumulated significantly in the Djendjen River. Contamination factor (CF) confirmed that the sedimentary samples were moderate in terms of all studied metals contamination. The Pollution Load Index (PLI) values were above one (>1), indicating an advanced decline of the sediment quality.

ABSTRACT\nBACKGROUND: Periodontitis is an oral disease associated with inflammation and pain with swollen and bleeding gums. In the present study, dental pastes containing NSAIDs, namely, diclofenac sodium and nimesulide (1 % w/w) were prepared to treat periodontitis.\nMETHODS: Dental pastes of diclofenac sodium and nimesulide (1 % w/w) were prepared with/without using various mucoadhesive hydrocolloid polymers such as sodium carboxy methyl cellulose (NaCMC), hydroxyl ethyl cellulose (HEC) and methyl cellulose (MC) by conventional trituration method. The pH, drug content, viscosity, tube spreadability and tube extrudability of these prepared dental pastes were measured. These dental pastes of diclofenac sodium and nimesulide (1 % w/w) were characterized by FTIR analyses for drug-excipient compatibility. \nRESULTS: The in vitro drug releases from these dental pastes in 6.4 pH phosphate buffer solution displayed sustained release over longer period and the drug release rate was found decreased when the concentration of mucoadhesive polymer was increased. These dental pastes displayed good adhesion to the oral mucosa revealing more retention time in mouth when tested for ex vivo mucoadhesion using bovine check pouch. The stability study results reveal that the DC3 and NC3 dental pasteformulations were found stable enough over a longer period in different storage conditions. \nCONCLUSIONS: The present study revealed that the prepared mucoadhesive dental pastes of diclofenac sodium and nimesulide (1 % w/w) with good adhesion to the oral mucosa to maintain consistent release of drugs over prolonged time.

ZnO nanoparticles have been successfully prepared by chemical precipitation method at 200oC, 400oC, 600oC and 800oC. The micro-structure and optical properties of the resulting ZnO nano-particles were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Visible spectroscopy, Photoluminescence and TEM. ZnO nanoparticles became more crystalline and the average size increases with increasing temperature. The quantum size effect decreases with increase in temperature, since the particle size increases. Quantum confinement increases the band gap energy of ZnO. As temperature increases, the peak absorbance wavelength becomes red shifted due to decreasing quantum confinement with increasing particle size. After high temperature annealing, the usual band edge emission in the UV band (355nm) and the deep level emission in the green band (499 nm) can be seen. TEM data also supports the XRD and optical spectroscopy data.

Spondylus limbatus es una especie bajo protección especial en México, de la cual existe poca información biológica y nada sobre estudios histológicos o citológicos de la gónada femenina, al igual que ningún otro miembro de la familia Spondylidae. El objetivo de esta investigación fue caracterizar la morfología ultraestructural de los gametos femeninos maduros y en degeneración. La gónada femenina de Spondylus limbatus en estado de madurez presentó ovocitos postvitelogénicos de 60-70 µm de diámetro, los cuales presentan el aspecto característico de células metabólicamente activas y altamente sintetizadoras. La membrana plasmática posee especializaciones destinadas a aumentar la superficie de absorción de la célula, los microvilli; el citoplasma presenta numerosos sistemas membranosos relacionados con la síntesis de material de reserva y secreción; y el patrón de organización nuclear altamente lobulado, y por consiguiente con una gran superficie que asegura el intercambio núcleo-citoplasma, se incorpora de forma estructural al proceso de vitelogénesis. Finalmente, se describen los cambios ultraestructurales resultantes de la lisis de los ovocitos: colapso de las membranas nuclear y citoplásmica, y presencia de células hemocíticas macrófagas.

Background. Dysphagia may delay the functional recovery and substantially affects the quality of life after stroke, mainly if lest untreated. Electrical stimulation has been reported as a treatment for pharyngeal dysphagia in recent studies, but the therapeutic effects of neuromuscular electrical stimulation(VitalStim®) therapy lacks convincing supporting evidence, needs further clinical investigation. \nMethods. 135 subjects were randomly divided into three groups: traditional swallowing therapy(n=45), VitalStim® therapy (n=45), and VitalStim® therapy plus traditional swallowing therapy (n=45). The traditional swallowing therapy included basic training and direct food intake training. Electrical stimulation was applied by an occupational therapist, using a modified hand-held battery-powered electrical stimulator (VitalStim® Dual Channel Unit and electrodes, Chattanooga Group, Hixson, TN, USA). Surface electromyography (sEMG), the Standardized Swallowing Assessment (SSA), Videofluoroscopic Swallowing Study (VFSS) and visual analog scale (VAS) were used to assess swallowing function before and 4 weeks after the treatment. \nResults. 118 subjects with dysphagia completed the study, 40 in the traditional swallowing therapy group and VitalStim® therapy group, 38 in the VitalStim® and traditional swallowing therapy group. There were significant differences in sEMG value, SSA and VFSS scores in each group after the treatment (P<.001). After 4-week treatment, sEMG value (917.1±91.2), SSA value (21.8 ± 3.5), Oral transit time (0.4 ± 0.1) and Pharyngeal transit time (0.8±0.1) were significantly improved in the VitalStim® and traditional swallowing therapy group than the other two groups (P<.001). \nConclusion. Data suggest that VitalStim® therapy coupled with taditional swallowing therapy may be beneficial for post-stroke dysphagia.

Abstract\nThe most widely used modality in pediatric cancer therapy is chemotherapy. The leukemias that occur in childhood usually are managed with chemotherapy alone. [1,2,10] Despite of a good therapeutic result, antineoplastic chemotherapy continues to be quite aggressive in children having neoplastic diseases.[1] Our study focused on the surveillance of toxicity of antineoplastic chemotherapy on 42 children between the ages of 3 and 18, with different stages of cancer. The statistical evaluation was carried out by chi square test. The most patients were diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (22 cases; 52.4%). The rest of the patients were diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma (9 cases, 21.4%), Hodgkin lymphoma (7 cases, 16.7%), osteosarcoma (3 cases, 7.1%), and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (1 case, 2.4%). The toxicity level, on a scale of 0 to 4, appears very high in the case of leukopenia (level 4, under 1000/mm3), in the case of anemia (level 4, below 6.5 g/dL), and in the case of granulocytopenia (level 4, below 55/mm3). By strict and standard monitoring of the adverse side effects of antineoplastic chemotherapy, certain correlations can be made regarding a higher or lower toxicity level of certain therapeutic regimens.