Recent progress in biomedical applications of chitosan and its nanocomposites in aquaculture: A review.

In the treatment of brain diseases, most potent drugs that have been developed exhibit poor therapeutic outcomes resulting from the inability of a therapeutic amount of the drug to reach the brain. These drugs do not exhibit targeted drug delivery mechanisms, resulting in a high concentration of the drugs in vital organs leading to drug toxicity. Chitosan (CS) is a natural-based polymer. It has unique properties such as good biodegradability, biocompatibility, mucoadhesive properties, and it has been approved for biomedical applications. It has been used to develop nanocarriers for brain targeting via intranasal administration. Nanocarriers such as nanoparticles, in situ gels, nanoemulsions, and liposomes have been developed. In vitro and in vivo studies revealed that these nanocarriers exhibited enhanced drug uptake to the brain with reduced side effects resulting from the prolonged contact time of the nanocarriers with the nasal mucosa, the surface charge of the nanocarriers, the nano size of the nanocarriers, and their capability to stretch the tight junctions within the nasal mucosa. The aforementioned unique properties make chitosan a potential material for the development of nanocarriers for targeted drug delivery to the brain. This review will focus on chitosan-based carriers for brain targeting.

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/9/11/2219/pdf

Chitosan-Based Nanocarriers for Nose to Brain Delivery

Chitosan (CS) and sodium alginate (SA) are two widely popular biopolymers which are used for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications from many years. The objective of present study was to study the effect of biofield treatment on physical, chemical and thermal properties of CS and SA. The study was performed in two groups (control and treated). The control group remained as untreated, and biofield treatment was given to treated group. The control and treated polymers were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, CHNSO analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), particle size analysis, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). FT-IR of treated chitosan showed increase in frequency of –CH stretching (2925→2979 cm- 1) vibrations with respect to control. However, the treated SA showed increase in frequency of –OH stretching (3182→3284 cm-1) which may be correlated to increase in force constant or bond strength with respect to control. CHNSO results showed significant increase in percentage of oxygen and hydrogen of treated polymers (CS and SA) with respect to control. XRD studies revealed that crystallinity was improved in treated CS as compared to control. The percentage crystallite size was increased significantly by 69.59% in treated CS with respect to control. However, treated SA showed decrease in crystallite size by 41.04% as compared to control sample. The treated SA showed significant reduction in particle size (d50 and d99) with respect to control SA. DSC study showed changes in decomposition temperature in treated CS with respect to control. A significant change in enthalpy was observed in treated polymers (CS and CA) with respect to control. TGA results of treated CS showed decrease in Tmax with respect to control. Likewise, the treated SA also showed decrease in Tmax which could be correlated to reduction in thermal stability after biofield treatment. Overall, the results showed that biofield treatment has significantly changed the physical, chemical and thermal properties of CS and SA.

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Characterization of Physicochemical and Thermal Properties of Chitosan and Sodium Alginate After Biofield Treatment

Introduction: An occupational injury is the primary cause of workplace absenteeism, disability, retirement, mutilation, and mortality. Therefore, injuries in the workplace pose major public health and developmental problems especially in developing countries. Therefore, the present study identified the prevalence of injury and its determinants among building construction employees in Robe town, Ethiopia. \nMethods: An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among building construction employees in Robe town from March 01-25/2017. A simple random sampling technique was used to select the study participants. The data was entered into EPiData 3.1and analysed by using SPSS version 20 software. Face to face interview was conducted on 402 respondents using structured and pretested questionnaire. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the effect of explanatory variables on injuries. \nResults: The overall prevalence of injury among building construction employees was 39.2% [95 % CI: (34.4, 44.2)] in the past one year. The three leading causes of injuries were falls from the same level (38.5%), followed by injuries caused by movable or falling object (23.1%), and falls from elevation (13.4%). Being male, use of personal protective equipment, health and safety training, regular supervision and job satisfaction were factors significantly associated with injury. \nConclusion: This study reported a relatively higher prevalence of injury among building construction workers compared to other studies. Factors such as being male, working without using personal protective equipment, absence of health and safety trainings, lack of regular supervision and job dissatisfaction were associated with significantly higher levels of occupational injury among construction workers. Therefore, employers should focus on providing safety training, promoting use of personal protective equipment during work, regular workplace supervision, and satisfying their employees by creating good work environments and working situations to reduce the rate of occupational injury.

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Determinants of Occupational Injury among Building Construction Employees in Southeastern Ethiopia

Chitosan (Chit) and its derivatives have received much attention due to their biodegradability, non-toxicity, and biocompatibility along with their antimicrobial, antiviral, and antitumoral activity. The preparation of three-dimensional chitosan-based polymer structures is usually conducted through the formation of ionic, covalent, and hydrogen bonds or hydrophobic interactions using chemical intermolecular cross-linking. The objective of this work is to provide a systematic review of recent studies by various research groups on three-dimensional polymer chitosan structures for biomedical applications, drug delivery, cosmetics. The introduction of a peroxide –OO– group into the chitosan macromolecule, achieved by the authors of this review, allows for the formation of three-dimensional structures of chitosan derivatives through radical and ionic mechanisms. To the best of our knowledge, there is no information in the literature on peroxide derivatives of Chit synthesized through the reactions of the amino group other than the above-mentioned works. Radical reactions were initiated by a controlled decomposition of the peroxide groups in peroxychitosans (PChit) in order to form a three-dimensional polymer matrix. PChit were synthesized by the method of polymer-analogous reaction through the peroxidation of chitosan with tert-butylperoxymethyl maleate. pH-sensitive macrohydrogels with a covalently cross-linked three-dimensional polymer matrix were developed by graft copolymerization of 1-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone and PChit in an aqueous medium. The pH-sensitive macrogels absorb and release an antibiotic cefazolin depending on pH and can be grafted to a cotton fabric. pH-sensitive spherical hydrogel nanoparticles were synthesized in aqueous nanodroplets of a reverse emulsion via free-radical graft copolymerization of 1-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone and PChit with primary-tertiary peroxide groups. The formed nanogels were loaded with anionic or cationic fluorescent dyes as drug models. The swelling and release profiles depend on polymer-network density, nature of the dye, and pH. Peroxychitosan was synthesized through the radical interaction between chitosan and a peroxide monomer followed by the emulsion polymerization of vinyl monomers in the presence of peroxychitosan. Self-assembled pH-sensitive submicron particles were formed due to the intermolecular electrostatic interaction between the ammonium groups of chitosan and the carboxylate groups of peroxide-containing oligooxyethylene pyromellitate (OOP). The particles have the structure of an ionically cross-linked hydrogel, their size and surface charge depending on pH and the ratio of the functional groups. The presence of the OOP peroxide groups allowed for further synthesis of covalently cross-linked pH-sensitive nanoparticles. The three-dimensional polymer structures of chitosan and its derivatives are promising candidates for the development of polymer drug-delivery systems, cosmetics, antibacterial coatings.

Formation of three-dimensional polymer structures through radical and ionic reactions of peroxychitosan

Chitosan is a natural polysaccharide well-known for its significant biological and chemical properties such as biodegradability, biocompatibility, bioactivity, and polycationicity. It is widely used in the nanomedicine, biomedical engineering and development of new therapeutic drug delivery systems with enhanced bioavailability, specificity and reduced pharmacological toxicity. Chitosan is a natural polymer obtained by deacetylation of chitin. After cellulose chitin is the second most abundant polysaccharide in nature. Different methods of synthesis of chitosan nanoparticles and their applications in nanomedicine, biomedical engineering, industrial and pharmaceutical fields were discussed in this review.

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Preparation and Applications of Chitosan Nanoparticles: A BriefReview

Purpose of review
Pneumonia is considered as the main lung infectious diseases cause for death and also the seventh leading cause for death overall within the United States. There is important interest in understanding the connection between community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and mortality.
Recent findings
Pneumonia is that the seventh leading explanation for death in US. It’s calculable that there are four million cases of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP)/yr within the US that ends in close to ten million medico visits, one million hospitalizations, and 45,000 deaths. There are not any massive studies from Asian nation on incidence of CAP; but, mortality knowledge on total variety of deaths square measure obtainable associated with lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI). Variety of deaths owing to LRTI was 35.1/100,000 population in 2008 compared to 35.8/100,000 population for TB & deaths associated with gastro enteral infections & parasitic diseases was 194.9/100,000 population. As per the WHO knowledge overall mortality because of LRTI is around 20% in our country.
Summary
This review focuses on the latest literature assessing the importance and also the frequency of long associated outcomes in patients with CAP, the risk factors, and conceivable ramifications for future methods. Numerous danger elements that incorporate age, sex, comorbid conditions, kind of pneumonia, and seriousness of illness are connected with higher long-term mortality.

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Clinical Illness and Outcomes in Patients with Severe Community-Acquired Pneumonia: A Prospective Study

Around the globe, work has heavy impact on the health. Any chronic ailment that results due to continuous work or any occupational activity can be known as Occupational disease. Various occupational exposures lead to different types of Occupational diseases. These can be caused by both ‘exertional factors’ and ‘environmental factors’ of which the former include injuries that are caused by the amount of physical exertion needed to perform the job and the latter refer to the presence of chemicals, dust, fumes, gases and other substances in the workplace.
However, it is not always that easy to designate a disease as being occupational. There are many diseases that could be related to occupation in one or the other way. On one hand there are some classical diseases which are occupational in nature and generally related to one causal agent. On the other hand, there are many kinds of disorders which probably include several possible causal agents without being related to occupation.
The present review discusses about the various types of common occupational disorders prevailing in different working fields, work compensation act and measurements and steps to be taken to prevent the occupational diseases according to the Occupational Health and Safety regards.

/pdf/occupational-disorders-and-risk-assessment-a-systematic-177vly55qa.pdf

Occupational Disorders and Risk Assessment: A Systematic Overview

Different types of pulmonary and respiratory disorders like pulmonary hypertension, dyspnea, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), pulmonary embolism etc., are emerging as important public health problems. This development has occurred in large measure due to the increasing number of population at risk. In addition, advances in therapeutic technologies and in particular the development of novel immunosuppressive therapies for the disorders have prolonged the period of risk for many individuals. This review deals with the prevalence, causes and effects of various pulmonary and respiratory disorders in defined populations. Although many novel therapies are obtained these days, an understanding of risk factors is required if prevention strategies, such as chemoprophylaxis and environmental control measures are widely applicable and cost-effective.

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Trends in the Epidemiological Study of the Most Common Pulmonary and Respiratory Disorders: A Systematic Overview

Lung cancer incidence has dramatically risen in the past decades. It is one of the most common malignancies worldwide and a leading cause of cancer-related deaths both among men and women. Approximately 1.5 million people worldwide die from lung cancer every year. The disease has an extremely poor prognosis and there has been no noticed improvement in the 5-year survival rate in the last 30 years. Unfortunately currently available treatments do not prevent the progressiveness of the disease. There has been lack of optimism regarding treatment advances in the last ten years, and progress in treating or predicting the risk for lung cancer has been very slow. The present review discusses about the lung cancer, its stages and causes and the preventive steps to be taken to challenge the relentless progression of the disease.

/pdf/a-systematic-review-on-lung-cancer-and-its-evolutionary-5b2wu1oxo8.pdf

Divya Lanka

Papers

Preparation and Applications of Chitosan Nanoparticles: A BriefReview

Clinical Illness and Outcomes in Patients with Severe Community-Acquired Pneumonia: A Prospective Study

Occupational Disorders and Risk Assessment: A Systematic Overview

Trends in the Epidemiological Study of the Most Common Pulmonary and Respiratory Disorders: A Systematic Overview

A Systematic Review on Lung Cancer and its Evolutionary Challenges in the Emerging Future