Glucose Uptake Stimulatory and PTP1B Inhibitory Activities of Pimarane Diterpenes from Orthosiphon stamineus Benth

Seven pimarane diterpenes (1–7) were isolated from Orthosiphon stamineus Benth. by assay-guided isolation. All of the isolates possessed a 2-deoxy-2-((7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazol-4-yl)amino)-d-glucose uptake effect in 3T3-L1 adipocytes at concentrations of 5 and 10 μM. Most of them showed potent inhibition against protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B with IC₅₀ values ranging from 0.33 to 9.84 μM. In the kinetic study, all inhibition types were exposed for the examined potencies, including mixed-competitive (1), non-competitives (3 and 5), competitive (6), and uncompetitive (7). The results suggested that O. stamineus and its pimarane diterpenes might exert the hypoglycemic effect via the insulin signaling pathway targeting inhibition of protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) activity.

Recent Progress and Advances of Multi-Stimuli-Responsive Dendrimers in Drug Delivery for Cancer Treatment

Despite the fact that nanocarriers as drug delivery systems overcome the limitation of chemotherapy, the leakage of encapsulated drugs during the delivery process to the target site can still cause toxic effects to healthy cells in other tissues and organs in the body. Controlling drug release at the target site, responding to stimuli that originated from internal changes within the body, as well as stimuli manipulated by external sources has recently received significant attention. Owning to the spherical shape and porous structure, dendrimer is utilized as a material for drug delivery. Moreover, the surface region of dendrimer has various moieties facilitating the surface functionalization to develop the desired material. Therefore, multi-stimuli-responsive dendrimers or 'smart' dendrimers that respond to more than two stimuli will be an inspired attempt to achieve the site-specific release and reduce as much as possible the side effects of the drug. The aim of this review was to delve much deeper into the recent progress of multi-stimuli-responsive dendrimers in the delivery of anticancer drugs in addition to the major potential challenges.

Functionalized mesoporous silica nanoparticles and biomedical applications

Since the first report in early 1990s, mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) have progressively attracted the attention of scientists due to their potential applications in physic, energy storage, imaging, and especially in biomedical engineering. Owning the unique physiochemical properties, such as highly porosity, large surface area and pore volume, functionalizable, tunable pore and particle sizes and biocompatibility, and high loading cavity, MSNs offer efficient encapsulation and then controlled release, and in some cases, intracellular delivery of bioactive molecules for biomedical applications. During the last decade, functionalized MSNs that show respond upon the surrounding stimulus changes, such as temperature, pH, redox, light, ultrasound, magnetic or electric fields, enzyme, redox, ROS, glucose, and ATP, or their combinations, have continuously revolutionized their potential applications in biomedical engineering. Therefore, this review focuses on discussion the recent fabrication of functionalized MSNs and their potential applications in drug delivery, therapeutic treatments, diagnostic imaging, and biocatalyst. In addition, some potential clinical applications and challenges will also be discussed.

[Practical problems related to the management of febrile urinary tract infection in Vietnamese children]

BACKGROUND

To describe the practical problems related to urinary tract infection (UTI) management in febrile Vietnamese children.

METHODS

During a prospective 28-month inclusion period, 143 febrile children with significant bacteriuria were treated for UTI in the nephrology department of Nhi Dong 2 children's hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Patients were treated after blood and urine samples had been taken for culture, according to a local antibiotic protocol, parenterally with ceftriaxone 75mg/kg/day. Oral treatment with cefixime 8mg/kg/day was started after 48h of apyrexia for 2 weeks. According to local protocol, antibiotic therapy was only changed if children did not respond clinically to treatment regardless of antibiogram results.

RESULTS

Among these 143 children, 51% were girls and 80% of them had their first UTI before the age of 2 years. The commonest causative agent was Escherichia coli (80% of cases) with a high resistance rate to ampicillin (91%) and cotrimoxazole (74%). Extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) production was observed in 52% of Enterobacteriaceae isolates. According to antibiotic susceptibility, the initial treatment with ceftriaxone was found to be inappropriate in 63% of cases.

CONCLUSIONS

E. coli was responsible for 80% of UTIs in Vietnamese children with a high rate of resistance to first-line antibiotics. ESBL production was found to be extremely high in this study. Based on these data, we propose a new empiric treatment schedule for Vietnamese children suspected of UTI.

Scrotal ultrasound

Scrotal ultrasound is now the first and only imaging examination necessary to evaluate the scrotal contents. This article first discusses normal scrotal anatomy, and then examines the imaging findings of various malignant and benign scrotal masses. Other topics include cryptorchidism, extratesticular abnormalities, and acute scrotum.