Identification of Pathogenic Microbes in Tools of Beauty Salon in Jeddah City

Beauty salons may draw in customers with glamour; however, they could also be considered a major health issue. They can cause the spread of bacterial and fungal infections. The purpose of this research was to identify pathogenic microbes from beauty salon tools. Microorganisms from contaminated salon tools and cosmetic products were isolated using various selective media. Microbial isolates were identified based on their molecular and biochemical characteristics. The most common bacterial species isolated were Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus equorum, Microbacterium spp., Bacillus siamensis, Bacillus subtilis, Sphingomonas aeria, Macrococcus spp., Microbacterium oxydans, Brachybacterium spp., Micrococcus luteus, and Brachybacterium nesterenkovii. Fungal isolates included Penicillium spp., Aspergillus niger, Purpureocillium lilacium, and Aspergillus flavus. Overall, Staphylococcus spp. and A. niger were the most common organisms isolated from the samples. The presence of potential pathogens indicates that the tools used in salons have not been adequately sterilized and the high risk of diseases spread.

Photocontrol of GTPase Cycle and Multimerization of the Small G-Protein H-Ras using Photochromic Azobenzene Derivatives

Ras is a small G protein known as a central regulator of cellular signal transduction that induces processes, such as cell division, transcription. The hypervariable region (HVR) is one of the functional parts of this G protein, which induces multimerization and interaction between Ras and the plasma membrane. We introduced two highly different in polarity photochromic SH group-reactive azobenzene derivatives, N-4-phenyl-azophenyl maleimide (PAM) and 4-chloroacetoamido-4-sulfo-azobenzene (CASAB), into three cysteine residues in HVR to control Ras GTPase using light. PAM stoichiometrically reacted with the SH group of cysteine residues and induced multimerization. The mutants modified with PAM exhibited reversible changes in GTPase activity accelerated by the guanine nucleotide exchange factor and GTPase activating protein and multimerization accompanied by cis- and trans-photoisomerization upon ultraviolet and visible light irradiation. CASAB was incorporated into two of the three cysteine residues in HVR but did not induce multimerization. The H-Ras GTPase modified with CASAB was photo controlled more effectively than PAM-H-Ras. In this study, we revealed that the incorporation of azobenzene derivatives into the functional site of HVR enables photo reversible control of Ras function. Our findings may contribute to the development of a method to control functional biomolecules with physiologically important roles.

Polymer Capped Silver Nanoparticles from Ziziphus nummularia Leaves Extract: Potent Antibacterial and Antioxidant Activity

Generally, synthesis and encapsulation process improve therapeutic value of nano encapsulated drugs. The silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) biosynthesized from Ziziphus nummularia leaves and encapsulated with polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) polymer as antibacterial agents, due to its high bioavailability, better encapsulation and less toxic properties. The nanoparticles (AgNPs) biosynthesized from Ziziphus nummularia leaves and capped with polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) polymer, The acquired AgNPs and polymeric functionalized AgNPs were fully characterised by the UV- Visible spectroscopy , Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-Ray diffraction pattern (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).The crystalline Ag NPs and Polymer Functionalized AgNPs have a face-centered cubic structure with an average size of 9.20 nm, according to X-ray Diffraction spectroscopy. Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy revealed that biomolecules such as proteins are incapable of reducing metal ions and the formation of an encapsulating layer in terms of metal ions. High-Resolution transmission electron microscopy revealed that Polymer functionalized AgNPs ranged in size of 10 nm. AgNPs and Polymer functionalized AgNPs showed effective antimicrobial and antioxidant activity. The biosynthesized monodisperse silver nanoparticles and encapsulated silver nanoparticles demonstrated better antimicrobial and antioxidant activity which can be used in various biomedical applications.

Polymeric Micelles: A Novel Approach towards Nano-Drug Delivery System

Nano delivery systems, polymeric micelles represent one of the most promising delivery platforms for therapeutic compounds. It has shown that a poorly soluble molecule which has high potency and remarkable toxicity can be encapsulated with the polymeric micelle. There are various poorly soluble drugs used in micellar preparations, mostly for their anti-cancer activity. Drugs in the inner core protect the drug from degradation and allow drug accumulation in the tumour site in the case of cancer treatment. Block copolymers are chosen based on the physicochemical characteristics of medicinal drugs. The amphiphilic block copolymer structure has both lipophilic and hydrophilic blocks, which enclose tiny hydrophobic molecules. It is a targeted drug delivery method because of its high effectiveness for drug retention in tissue, prevention of enzymes from degradation, and improvement of the cellular absorption mechanism. In an experimental environment, variations in temperature and solvent polarity stimulate copolymer micelle self-assembly. This is a thermodynamically guided procedure in which self-assembly happens by converting polymeric micelles. These aggregates go from a non-equilibrium to a thermodynamically equilibrium state, and they stay stable for a long time. The balance of thermodynamic and kinetic forces is critical in micelles self-assembly because the kinetic process predicts assembly behaviour and hierarchical structure. The purpose of this special issue is to provide an updated overview of micelles, a number of polymers and drugs commonly used in micellar preparation and their application.

First Report on Karyotypic, Morphometric and Meiotic Analysis of a Predatory Bombardier Beetle Pherosophus catoirai (Coleoptera: Carabidae) from Jammu region of Outer Himalayas, India

Chromosomal studies and manual karyotyping are the aged techniques for determining the identity of a species on evolutionary scale; however, these techniques are simple, reliable and inexpensive to authenticate the existence of a particular species. In the present work, the chromosome complement and meiotic processes of a predatory bombardier beetle Pherosophus catoirai were investigated. This species presented 2n=35 as diploid chromosome number and the chromosomal formula was found to be 12m+8sm+12st+X0. Sex mechanism was X0 type with metacentric X chromosome. Y chromosome was absent in this species. Karyotype revealed small chromosomes except X chromosome which is found to be largest in the spermatogonial metaphase stage. Meiotic stages were pachytene, diplotene, diakinesis and metaphase-I. Present study may find importance to analyse evolution of chromosomes in order Coleoptera particularly in family Carabidae.

Screening and Characterization of Soil Microbes Producing Antimicrobial Compounds in Makkah Province, Saudi Arabia

This study aimed to investigate a method to manage antimicrobial resistance (AMR) issues by exploring soil microorganisms that are capable of producing bioactive compounds. Eight different types of soil were selected from three locations to screen, isolate, and identify microorganisms that are capable of producing antimicrobial compounds. The multi-drug resistant strains are Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans were selected for primary and secondary screening using the crowded plate method and the agar well diffusion method. Inhibition zones were measured, and data were assessed using statistical tests to check for normality and differences between parametric variables and nonparametric data. This was followed by biochemical characterization, DNA isolation, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Molecular identification was performed using 16S rRNA amplification and sequencing. Here, 86 isolates containing bacteria and fungi were successfully extracted from soil samples. Further, 49 of 86 microbes showed possible antimicrobial activity, but only 12 isolates resulted in distinct inhibition zones with the selected multi-drug resistant strains. The following different taxa were identified: Firmicutes (nine strains), Proteobacteria (one strain), Actinobacteria (one strain), and Azotobacter (one strain). Species are represented in a phylogenetic tree, which was constructed using the unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) method. The evolutionary distances were computed using the Maximum Composite Likelihood method. The identified microorganisms showed antimicrobial activity, confirming that soil microorganisms have great potential to address AMR issues.

In-silico Studies of Thiopyridine Compounds as Anti-Bacterial agents Targeting Enoyl - Acyl Carrier Protein Reductase

In the Fatty Acid Synthase II system, Enoyl-(acyl-carrier-protein) reductase (ENR) encoded by FabI genes is a limiting step enzyme and there is no homologue ENR found in invertebrates which makes it selective target for drug discovery. From Molecular dynamics simulations it was concluded that the solvated protein stabilized at 2.5 ns with larger mobility in the substrate - binding loop and the conformational flexibility of the molecule was revealed. To study the inhibitory effects of novel small molecules in the thiopyridine series, a 2D QSAR model was developed and evaluated for its efficiency. The R2 > 0.96 and Q2 = 0.978 depicted the predictive ability of the models which was determined using a test set of 3 compounds. The receptor-ligand interactions were studied and highest affinity was reported for GCT ID, 343129 (-9.09 Kcal/mol), 341772 (-8.90 Kcal/mol) and 268776 (-8.85 Kcal/mol). These compounds were analysed for their drug like properties and toxicity which projected acceptable blood brain barrier permeation and human intestinal absorption and reduced lipotoxicity. Thus the results suggest further synthesis of new thipyridine series of compounds and experimental testing against drug resistant Staphylococcal infections

Assessment of Conventional Insecticides against Common Bed Bugs Cimex Hemipterus (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) in Jeddah Province, Saudi Arabia

Bed bugs, Cimex hemipterus (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) are small insects that are considered public health pests and cause many health and economic problems. The efficacy of Organophosphorus insecticides (Safrotin and Actikill) and pyrethroids (Project and Cyper Safe) in controlling C. hemipterus adults and nymphs were investigated using contact and dipping methods. The WHO protocol was followed for insecticides application. The results of the current study showed that the project pesticide from the pyrethroids group gave the highest effectiveness against bed bugs, as the value of the concentration that killed 50% (LC50) of insects was of the adults (264.8, 337.5 ppm) when using dipping and contact methods, respectively. while the LC50 value when applying the two methods of the same insecticide against nymphs was 254.7 and 329.3ppm, respectively. However, Safrotin the more effective organophosphorus insecticide. The dipping method was more effective than the contact method for all insecticides, and the nymphs were more susceptible than the adults (LC50= 1502.6 and 1065.28ppm). The pesticides can be arranged in descending order according to their effect as follows: Project> Cyper Safe > Safrotin > Actikill. Our findings suggest that bed bugs in Jeddah Province may have developed resistance to common pesticides used in public health pest management programs. For this reason, this study recommends a periodic evaluation of the effectiveness of pesticides to be used during emergency pest outbreaks

Evaluation of the Influence of Stirring Speed on the Release Kinetics of Fexofenadine HCl Polymeric Microspheres

Microspheres, a potential drug delivery approach, has opened a new era for attaining versatile release patterns needed. By optimizing the formulation variables, they can be prepared to obtain targeted release, immediate release, sustained release patterns. The release of the active drug material depends upon a number of formulation parameters such as polymers, stirring speed (rpm), methodology, surfactants, etc. Fexofenadine hydrochloride (HCl) is a second generation antihistamine. Our present research has explored the effects of using different rpm (600- 1000 rpm) in preparing fexofenadine hydrochloride (HCl) microspheres by emulsion solvent evaporation method. The formulation is aimed to provide sustained release for the required long period with a high margin of safety. We used a blended mixture of Hydroxy Propyl Methyl Cellulose (HPMC) K 100 MCR and Eudragit RL100 polymers to have sustained-release microspheres. The impact of different rpm on Yield, drug encapsulation efficiency, flow properties, and dissolution pattern were appraised. We observed the release of the drug for 10 hours in phosphate buffer (pH 6.8) and evaluated the drug release spectrophotometrically. Our study finds that the release of fexofenadine HCl from the microspheres was significantly increased with drug loading. We found the dosage forms to follow Higuchi release kinetics and Hixson-Crowell release kinetics the most, indicating successful achievement of sustained-release pattern in the dosage form. The change in drug release rate was statistically significant for variation in the stirring rate. We found that 600 rpm was the most optimized stirring rate for preparing microspheres in the emulsion solvent evaporation method.

Quercetin Modulates Behavioural and Biochemical Alterations in Stressed Mice

Disruption of the active phase of sleep alters the physiological homeostasis of the body and results in oxidative breakdown which may trigger a wide array of defects. The central nervous system and the metabolic system are some of the most affected systems as described in several literatures. Some plant based compounds with antioxidant property have been previously described in the abrogation of the deleterious effects of active sleep disruption. One of such compounds is quercetin. This study was premeditated to expatiate on the probable neuroprotective effect of quercetin on mice exposed to 72hr active sleep disruption. Mice were allotted into five treatment groups (n = 6): group 1 served as control, group 2 received 10 mL/kg vehicle, groups 3 and 4 received 25 and 50 mg/kg quercetin respectively, and group 5 received 50 mg/kg astaxanthin. Treatment lasted for 7 days while groups 2-5 were exposed to the sleep deprivation protocol starting from day 4. Behavioural tests followed by biochemical assays and histopathological changes in the prefrontal cortex were evaluated. Data were analysed by ANOVA set at p<0.05 significance. The results revealed that quercetin, in both doses, significantly amplified memory performance, attenuated depression-like behaviour, replenished catalase and superoxide dismutase, attenuated nitric oxide levels in brain and liver of mice when compared to control group and protected against loss of prefrontal cortex neurons. In conclusion, quercetin possesses protective effects against sleep deprivation-induced brain damage.