The present study aimed to evaluate cardio-protective effect of Nigella sativa oil (NSO) on lead induced cardio toxicity. Forty five albino adult rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: control lead (Pb) group that received lead acetate (20 mg/kg/day) 3 times weekly for 8 weeks and PB + NSO group (rats pretreated with Nigella sativa oil (4 ml/kg) orally for 1 h before administration of lead acetate (given as in Pb group). Myocardial injury was assessed by laboratory and pathological studies, and heart rate was recorded in all animals. Lead intake resulted in significant increases in cardiac high-sensitivity Creactive protein (hs-CRP), interlukin-6 (IL-6), E-selectin, troponin I, malondialdehyde (MDA) and serum creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB). The cardiac apelin, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione (GSH) levels significantly decreased in Pb group compared to the control. Currently, heart rate and ST segment increased significantly after lead intake. Heart lesions as a result of lead treatment were in the form of hemorrhage, myocardial necrosis, mononuclear cell infiltration and fibrosis. Immuno histochemical results of the heart revealed positive cyclooxyenase-2 (Cox-2) expressions in Pb-treated group. NSO administration produced significant normalization of the physiological parameters as well as restored the histological structure and decreased the COX-2 expression of the heart compared to Pb group. In conclusion, NSO intake has cardio protective potential through its ability to decrease pro inflammatory cytokines, oxidative stress and cardiac tissue damage in lead-induced cardio toxicity.

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In this paper, we present a formulation for extracting the noise wave correlation matrix of a linear two-port device-under-test (DUT) from measured noise powers using a designed six-port network. The noise powers are measured using a conventional noise figure analyzer. The extracted noise wave correlation matrix can then be converted into conventional two-port noise parameters. The proposed measurement equipment is very simple and leads to a very low cost. The proposed method is experimentally verified through measurements of various DUT samples.Index Terms-Calibration, noise figure, noise parameters, noise waves correlation matrix, six-port network. 0018-9480

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Onychomycosis is a prominent fungal infection that causes discoloration, thickening, and mutilation leading to the separation of the nail from the nail bed. Treatment modalities for onychomycosis may include oral, topical, or combination therapy with antifungals and at times may require chemical or surgical intervention. The burden of side effects of antifungals is enormous, and therefore using molecular docking-based drug selection in context with the target keratin protein would ensure better disease management. Ciclopirox, Amorolfine HCl, Efinaconazole, Tioconazole, and Tavaborole were submitted for assessment, revealing that Amorolfine HCl is the best fit. Consequently, two formulations (Nail lacquer and nanoemulgel) were developed from Amorolfine HCl to validate the in silico screening outcomes. The formulations were further fortified with over-the-counter ingredients vis-a-vis with vitamin E in nail lacquer and undecylenic acid in nanoemulgel for their prominent roles in improving nail health. Both the formulations were systematically designed, optimized, and characterized. Amorolfine HCl containing nanoemulgel (NEG) was developed using undecylenic acid as an oil phase and thioglycolic acid as a penetration enhancer. The quality parameters evaluated were particle size, the zeta potential for nanoemulsion (NE) (78.04 ± 4.724 nm and −0.7mV, respectively), in vitro cumulative drug release (96.74% for NE and 88.54% for NEG), and transungual permeation (about 73.49% for NEG and 54.81% for NE). Nail lacquer was evaluated for the drying time, non-volatile content, and blush test. In vitro cumulative drug release of the developed nail lacquer and comparator marketed formulations were around 81.5% and 75%, respectively. Similarly, the transungual drug permeation was 6.32 μg/cm2 and 5.89 μg/cm2, respectively, in 24 h. The in silico guided preparation of both formulations containing Amorolfine HCl and over the counter ingredients is amenable for therapeutic use against onychomycosis and will be evaluated in the in vivo model.