Thyme (TO), cinnamon (CO), and Ceylon type lemongrass (LO) essential oils (EOs) are commonly used for inhalation. However, their effects and mechanisms on inflammatory processes are not well-documented, and the number of in vivo data that would be important to determine their potential benefits or risks is low. Therefore, we analyzed the chemical composition and investigated the activity of TO, CO, and LO on airway functions and inflammatory parameters in an acute pneumonitis mouse model. The components of commercially available EOs were measured by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Airway inflammation was induced by intratracheal endotoxin administration in mice. EOs were inhaled during the experiments. Airway function and hyperresponsiveness were determined by unrestrained whole-body plethysmography on conscious animals. Myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity was measured by spectrophotometry from lung tissue homogenates, from which semiquantitative histopathological scores were assessed. The main components of TO, CO, and LO were thymol, cinnamaldehyde, and citronellal, respectively. We provide here the first evidence that TO and CO reduce inflammatory airway hyperresponsiveness and certain cellular inflammatory parameters, so they can potentially be considered as adjuvant treatments in respiratory inflammatory conditions. In contrast, Ceylon type LO inhalation might have an irritant effect (e.g., increased airway hyperresponsiveness and MPO activity) on the inflamed airways, and therefore should be avoided.

Background Illegal online pharmacies function as affiliate networks, in which search engine results pages (SERPs) are poisoned by several links redirecting site visitors to unlicensed drug distribution pages upon clicking on the link of a legitimate, yet irrelevant domain. This unfair online marketing practice is commonly referred to as search redirection attack, a most frequently used technique in the online illegal pharmaceutical marketplace. Objective This study is meant to describe the mechanism of search redirection attacks in Google search results in relation to erectile dysfunction medications in European countries and also to determine the local and global scales of this problem. Methods The search engine query results regarding 4 erectile dysfunction medications were documented using Google. The search expressions were “active ingredient” and “buy” in the language of 12 European countries, including Hungary. The final destination website legitimacy was checked at LegitScript, and the estimated number of monthly unique visitors was obtained from SEMrush traffic analytics. Compromised links leading to international illegal medicinal product vendors via redirection were analyzed using Gephi graph visualization software. Results Compromised links redirecting to active online pharmacies were present in search query results of all evaluated countries. The prevalence was highest in Spain (62/160, 38.8%), Hungary (52/160, 32.5%), Italy (46/160, 28.8%), and France (37/160, 23.1%), whereas the lowest was in Finland (12/160, 7.5%), Croatia (10/160, 6.3%), and Bulgaria (2/160, 1.3%), as per data recorded in November 2020. A decrease in the number of compromised sites linking visitors to illegitimate medicine sellers was observed in the Hungarian data set between 2019 and 2021, from 41% (33/80) to 5% (4/80), respectively. Out of 1920 search results in the international sample, 380 (19.79%) search query results were compromised, with the majority (n=342, 90%) of links redirecting individuals to 73 international illegal medicinal product vendors. Most of these illegal online pharmacies (41/73, 56%) received only 1 or 2 compromised links, whereas the top 3 domains with the highest in-degree link value received more than one-third of all incoming links. Traffic analysis of 35 pharmacy specific domains, accessible via compromised links in search engine queries, showed a total of 473,118 unique visitors in November 2020. Conclusions Although the number of compromised links in SERPs has shown a decreasing tendency in Hungary, an analysis of the European search query data set points to the global significance of search engine poisoning. Our research illustrates that search engine poisoning is a constant threat, as illegitimate affiliate networks continue to flourish while uncoordinated interventions by authorities and individual stakeholders remain insufficient. Ultimately, without a dedicated and comprehensive effort on the part of search engine providers for effectively monitoring and moderating SERPs, they may never be entirely free of compromised links leading to illegal online pharmacy networks.

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vancomycin/metronidazol), days and regimen of treatment, recurrence or death at 8 weeks. Risk factors evaluated: age >65 years, use of antibiotics in the previous 3 months, ICD in the last 6 months, severe disease (oncological patient, immunosuppressed, renal failure). Tapered dosage of fidaxomicin oral was defined as 200 mg/12 hours (5 days) and 200 mg/48 hours (D7-D25).Data were obtained from the pharmacy dispensation program and the patients' digital clinical records. Results Forty-one patients were included, 25 women (61%), mean age 69 (21-99) years, 73.2% (n=30) were older than 65 years. 95.1% (n=39) had received antibiotics in the previous 3 months, 51.2% (n=21) had suffered CDI in the last 6 months, 60.9% (n=26) had severe baseline disease and 21.9% (n=9) were immunosuppressed. As first line, 41.4% (n=17) received vancomycin and metronidazole, 44% (n=18) received vancomycin and 14.6% (n=6) received fidaxomicin. 63.4% (n=26) received fidaxomicin 200 mg/12 hours (10 days), in 14.6% (n=9) the extended regimen was used and 22% (n=6) received 200 mg/12 hours for longer. 82.9% (n=34) of fidaxomicin-treated patients had no CDI recurrence at 8 weeks. 22% (n=9) of the patients died. Nine fidaxomicin-treated patients were administered bezlotuxumab and none subsequently developed CDI. All were older than 65 years and 66.6% (n=6) were oncology patients. Conclusion and relevanceThe CDI treatment was mostly adjusted to the recommendedations in the therapeutic guidelines, with vancomycin/metronidazole as first-line and fidaxomicin in recurrences. The use of bexlotuxumab was adapted to the considerations of the Therapeutic Positioning Index and was used in patients with a higher risk of recurrence.Although in the pivotal studies the recurrence rate with bexlotuxumab was 16.5%, in our study there were no recurrences. In the case of fidaxomicin, the recurrence rate was 17.1%, which was higher than the published studies.Limitations: small sample size and the impact of the joint use of bexlotuxumab and fidaxomicin has not been measured.

Objective: To compare the efficacy of Tazarotene 0.1% cream versus Clindamycin 1% gel in treating acne vulgaris. Study Design: Quasi-experimental study. Place and Duration of the Study: Dermatology Department, Pak Emirates Military Hospital, Rawalpindi Pakistan, from Jan to Jul 2018. Methodology: One hundred and fifty-four patients of both genders who had moderate acne vulgaris for more than four weeks were divided into two Groups. In both Groups, patients applied one-fourth fingertip unit of Tazarotene 0.1% cream in the evening once daily and Clindamycin 1% gel over the affected area in the morning once daily for 12 weeks. The Global Acne Grading System Score (GAGS score) was used for severity and efficacy assessment. Results: The majority of the patients belonged to 13-25 years of age, i.e., 61(79.2%) and 54(70.1%) in Group-A (Tazarotene 0.1% cream) and Group-B (Clindamycin 1% gel), respectively. The efficacy of topical Tazarotene cream (0.1%) was better than topical Clindamycin 1% gel, and the difference was statistically significant with a p-value less than 0.01. GAGS score <10 was observed in 54.5% and 33.8% of patients in Group-A and Group-B, respectively. Conclusion: Topical Tazarotene cream (0.1%) was more effective than topical Clindamycin 1% gel in treating acne vulgaris.