Pharmaceutical Investigation

Health hazards with electromagnetic radiation Subramani Parasuraman, Eng Yuh Xin, Lim Nian Zou International Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation 2018 8(4):157-163 Electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) is the range of frequencies of electromagnetic radiation (EMR). In general, EMR can be classified into ionizing or nonionizing radiation (NIR), based on their energy possessed to knock electrons off atoms that it interacts with. Ionizing radiation holds a great number of energy to knock off electrons and ionize the matter, whereas NIR does not possess enough energy to ionize atoms or molecules. Ionizing radiation can be further divided into five types, namely, alpha-particles, beta-particles, gamma-ray, X-rays, and neutron particles. NIRs are part of EMS encompass the wavelength (>100 nm), low photon energy (<12.4 eV) portion of the EMS from 1 Hz to 3 × 1015 Hz. NIR is divided into four regions, namely, static electric and magnetic field, extremely low-frequency filed, radiofrequency, and microwave radiation and optical radiation. NIR can be from both natural (e.g., sunlight) and man-made sources (e.g., wireless communications devices). EMR exposures can be divided into three categories, which is high-level, medium-level, and low-level exposure. High-level radiation exposure can cause damage to the body, and the affected cells cannot repair fast enough with a dose that may quickly kill the exposed person. EMR is hazardous to all living organisms because its effects are latent, painless, and cumulative. The current review is to summarize the effect of EMR exposures on physical and mental health.

Research on Azadirachta indica: A scientometric assessment of global publications output during 1997–2016 BM Gupta, KK Mueen Ahmed International Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation 2018 8(4):164-172 Aim: The present study aimed to perform scientometric assessment of global publications output of research on Azadirachta indica during 1997–2016. Methodology: The present study examined 4900 global publications on A. indica, as indexed and covered in international Scopus database during 1997–2016 with a view to understanding their growth rate, global publication share, citation impact, international collaborative papers share, distribution of publications by broad subjects, productivity and citation profile of top organizations and authors, preferred media of communication, and bibliographic characteristics of high cited papers. Results: The global publications registered 7.61% annual average growth rate, and its citation impact averaged to 13.91 citations per paper. The global share of top 10 countries ranged from 1.91% to 31.04%, with the largest share (53.49%) from India, followed by Brazil (6.12%), USA (6.02%), etc., About 86.82% and 85.81% of the cumulative global publication and citation share comes from top 10 countries during 1997–2016. The cumulative global share of top 10 countries increased from 85.89% to 86.35% from 1997–2006 to 2007–2017. Only top three countries registered relative citation index above the world average of 1.0: UK (1.95), USA (1.71), and Germany (1.42) during 1997–2016. Agricultural and biological sciences contributed the largest global publications share of 48.41%, followed by pharmacology, toxicology and pharmaceutics (22.04%), biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology (17.35%), medicine (16.80%), environmental science (13.39%), and other three sub-fields contribution varying from 4.90% to 8.22% during 1997–2016. Eight hundred and forty-eight global organizations and 1589 authors participated in global A. indica research, of which the 25 most productive global organizations and authors together contributed 20.65% and 8.92% global publication share and 22.43% and 12.66% global citation share, respectively, during 1997–2016. Among 4387 journal papers (in 959 journals) in global A. indica research, the top 20 most productive journals together contributed 43.63% global share of total journal publication output during 1997–2016. Conclusion: Totally, 78 publications were found to be high cited, as they registered citations from 100 to 1441 during 1997–2016 and they together received 18,498 citations, averaging to 237.15 citations per paper.

Research on Nigella sativa: A scientometric assessment of global publications' output during 1989–2018 BM Gupta, KK Mueen Ahmed International Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation 2018 8(4):173-181 Aim: The present study aimed to perform scientometric assessment of global publications' output of research on Nigella sativa during 1989–2018. Materials and Methods: The present study examined 3718 global publications on N. sativa, as indexed and covered in international Scopus database during 1989–2018, with a view to understand their growth rate, global publication share, citation impact, international collaborative papers' share, distribution of publications by broad subjects, productivity and citation profile of top organizations and authors, preferred media of communication, and bibliographic characteristics of highly cited papers. The global publications on N. sativa registered 20.87% annual average growth rate, and its citation impact averaged to 19.08 citations per paper. Results: The global share of top ten countries on N. sativa ranged from 3.15% to 23.91%, with the largest share (23.91%) from India, followed by Iran (9.58%), Egypt (9.06%), the USA (7.15%), etc., Nearly 81.31% and 75.74% of the global publication and citation share came from the top 10 countries during 1989–2018. The cumulative global share of the top 10 countries increased from 70.56% to 82.58% from 1989–2003 to 2004–2018. Five countries registered relative citation index above the world average of 0.93 as follows: Germany (1.86), the USA (1.54), Turkey (1.33), Saudi Arabia (1.16), and Egypt (0.94) during 1989–2018. Pharmacology, toxicology, and pharmaceutics contributed the largest global publication share of 33.97%, followed by agricultural and biological sciences (32.92%); medicine (30.10%); biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology (24.74%); chemistry (12.40%); immunology and microbiology (6.97%); environmental science (5.38%); and veterinary science (3.60%) during 1989–2018. A total of 432 organizations and 642 authors participated in the global research on N. sativa during 1989–2018, of which the top 15 most productive research organizations and the authors collectively contributed 23.45% and 6.64% of the global publication share and 21.82% and 8.04% of the global citation share, respectively, during 1989–2018. Among 3655 journal papers (in 364 journals) in global N. sativa research, the top 15 most productive journals together contributed 13.54% of global share of the total journal publication output during 1989–2018. Conclusion: One hundred and twenty-six publications were found to be highly cited, as they registered citations from 100 to 2971 during 1989–2018 and they together received 23,426 citations, averaging to 185.92 citations per paper.

Nano-enabled drug delivery research: A scientometric assessment of Indian publications during 1995–2018 KK Mueen Ahmed, BM Gupta International Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation 2018 8(4):182-191 Aim: The present study is aimed on to perform Scientometric assessment of global publications output of research on nano-enabled drug delivery (NEDD) during 1995–2018. Materials and Methods: A quantitative and qualitative description of NEDD research in India is presented here based on measures such as growth rate, global publications share, share of international collaborative papers, citations per paper, and highly cited papers. It was examined India's research output on NEDD on a series of bibliometric indicators. Results: India published a total of 5897 publications in 24 years during 1995–2018, registering an average annual growth rate of 42.99%, citation impact of 22.90 citations per paper, global publication share of 11.11%, and international collaborative publication share of 20.35%. Profiles global publication output and share of top 10 most productive countries in NEDD research, 20 most productive Indian organizations and 20 most productive Indian authors on a series of indicators including publications output, number of citations, the relative citation index, citations per paper, h-index, and share of international collaborative papers during 1995–2018. Conclusion: This study describes the scattering of research output of India across source journals and distribution of research by subject areas that intersect with NEDD research. It suggests the need for India to develop specific plans of action and ensure its implementation at the national level and also prioritize national goals for NEDD research.

Resveratrol attenuates malathion-induced renal damage by declining oxidative stress in rats Cyrus Jalili, Shiva Roshankhah, Yones Moradi, Mohammad Reza Salahshoor International Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation 2018 8(4):192-199 Background: Malathion is the most organophosphates which are capable to produce free radicals and induce disturbance in body antioxidant. Resveratrol is an herbal polyphenol and it has been beneficial antioxidant effects during short-term administration. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of resveratrol against damage induced by malathion to the kidneys of rats. Materials and Methods: Forty-eight Wistar rats divided randomly into eight groups (n = 6): sham (saline) and malathion control treated groups (27 mg/kg); resveratrol groups (2, 8, and 20 mg/kg); and resveratrol + malathion-treated groups (2, 8, and 20 mg/kg). Treatments were administered intraperitoneally and gavage daily for 45 days. Parameters related to the function and the histology of the kidneys were evaluated and statistically analyzed from kidney and blood serum samples in respect of the groups. Results: Malathion administration increased significantly Bowman's space, qualitative histopathology indices, kidney malondialdehyde (MDA) level, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, and nitrite oxide levels and decreased significantly total antioxidant capacity (TAC) level and diameter and number of renal corpuscles compared to the Sham group (P < 0.001). The resveratrol and resveratrol + malathion treatments in a dose-dependent manner reduced significantly Bowman's space, qualitative histopathology indices, kidney MDA level, BUN, creatinine, and nitrite oxide levels and increased significantly TAC level and diameter and number of renal corpuscles compared to the malathion control group (P < 0.001). Conclusion: It seems that resveratrol administration in a dose-dependent manner improved kidney injury induced by malathion in rats.

Effect of probiotics in the treatment of acute noninflammatory diarrhea in hospitalized children aged 2–10 years Abolfazl Khoshdel, Karam-Ali Kasiri, Simin Salehi, Morteza Sedehi International Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation 2018 8(4):200-204 Objective: Diarrhea is the second leading cause of death in children. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of probiotics in the treatment of acute noninflammatory diarrhea in children aged 2–10 years in the Pediatric Ward of Hajar Hospital in Shahrekord. Methods: This clinical trial was performed on 184 children with diarrhea. Eighty-six children were randomly assigned to the KidiLact probiotic group and 87 ones to the control group. Patients' demographic information, symptoms, and other variables were recorded in a checklist. The data were analyzed by SPSS version 16 (Chicago, IL) using Chi-square and independent t-test. Results: The mean frequency of diarrhea in the 2nd and 4th days (P < 0.001), duration of fever (P = 0.01), duration of diarrhea (P < 0.001), and duration of hospital stay (P = 0.001) were significantly lower in the probiotic group than those in the control group. The frequency of recovery in the 2nd (P = 0.013) and 4th (P < 0.001) days was significantly higher in the probiotic group than that in the control group. There was no significant difference in the frequency of dyspepsia between the patients of the two groups (P = 0.331). Conclusion: Probiotics are effective in the treatment of acute noninflammatory diarrhea in children aged 2–10 years and can be used as a safe treatment alongside the standard treatment.

Ultrasound therapy for recurrent noninfective olecranon bursitis: A case report S Aswinprakash, D Jagadeesh, R Arulmoli, Yuvaraj Maria Francis, Kaviarasu Mahalingam, Robert Francis Stanley, Diwakar Aiyaloo International Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation 2018 8(4):205-209 Olecranon bursa is the commonly involved structure of the elbow joint in trauma of any mechanical cause or infections due to its subcutaneous position. The overall incidence may vary, but it is more common in males between 30 and 60 years. Various pharmaceutical and physiotherapeutic treatment options are available based on septic or nonseptic conditions. Mostly antibiotics and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are widely used by physicians, whereas electrotherapy modalities are the choice of treatment by physiotherapists. Among which, ultrasound (US) therapy is found to be more convenient and effective in treating bursitis. As of the recent evidence available, US therapy is highly effective in treating olecranon bursitis.

Alexandros Sfakianakis
Anapafseos 5 . Agios Nikolaos
Crete.Greece.72100
2841026182

6948891480

alsfakia@gmail.com