A TRADITIONAL MEDICINE PRACTICE IN SNAKEBITE

Snakebite is one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality in Turkey, especially in rural areas. There are 41 snake species living in Turkey, 28 of which are non-poisonous and 13 are venomous. Of these 13 venomous snakes, 10 species are from the Viperidae family, 2 species from the Colubridae and 1 species from the Elapidae (Cobras) family and can be lethal with the venom they inject when they bite. The venom has mostly hematotoxic rarely neurotoxic effects. In addition to these effects, it also has cardiotoxic, myotoxic and nephrotoxic properties. A 50-year-old female patient was admitted to the emergency department 30-40 minutes after her left hand was bitten by a snake bite from the second finger. The patient, who was conscious, agitated and restless, had ecchymosis, widespread edema, pain and tenderness at the wound site. The wound area was cleaned with an antiseptic solution, 80 mg Prednisolone, 20 snake antiserum, 100 mg ulcer and tetanus prophylaxis were administered in the emergency room. The patient was absorbed 80-90 cc of fluid and blood absorption from three different areas on the left hand using the cupping vacuum method, then a splint was taken and elevation was performed. In the examination of the patient 20 hours after the application, edema in the hand decreased, swelling decreased, limitation of movement disappeared and the patient had minimal pain. The blood parameters of the patient were checked and evaluated as normal. The patient was discharged in a healthy way after 40 hours of admission to the hospital, following control and follow-up. As in our case, it should not be forgotten that besides all modern medical practices, cupping absorption therapy, which is a traditional medical treatment, is also very important in terms of supportive treatment and local tissue.

The Application of the Essential Oils of Thymus vulgaris L. and Crithmum maritimum L. as Biocidal on Two Tholu Bommalu Indian Leather Puppets

The chemical profile of the Thymus vulgaris (Lamiaceae) essential oil (EO) was investigated in order to evaluate its biological properties against microorganisms affecting two Tholu Bommalu, typical Indian leather puppets stored at the International Puppets Museum “Antonio Pasqualino” of Palermo, Italy. A GC–MS analysis, using both polar and apolar columns, was used to determine the chemical composition of the essential oil. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial effectiveness of the Thymus vulgaris and Crithmum maritimum essential oils in vapor phase to disinfect heritage leather puppets. Pieces of leather artifacts that were affected by different bacterial colonies were exposed to EO under vacuum and static evaporation conditions. The results presented showed that the vaporization of essential oil was an efficient method in the disinfection of natural skins, eradicating microorganism in short times. T. vulgaris EO in the 50% solution showed excellent inhibitory activity against isolated bacteria with both methods, but the obtained results suggest that the vacuum method allowed for faster exposition of the artifacts to the biocide. Furthermore, the biocidal properties of the essential oil of a Sicilian accession of Crithmum maritimum (Apiaceae) aerial parts were compared and investigated. The results of the latter essential oil showed a poor activity against the isolated micro-organisms.

New perspectives on active pediculosis detection in schoolchildren from Southern Brazil

The present study aims to analyze the prevalence and risk factors of active pediculosis and to compare the efficacy and sensitivity of the vacuum method with the comb method and the visual inspection with a magnifying glass in order to determine the best methodology to detect active pediculosis among schoolchildren from Paraná state. Each child was examined by the three methods in sequence and a playful activity was introduced to increase the children likelihood to participate in the study. Additionally, hair characteristics and other risk factors as sex, age, and area of living were take into consideration to measure epidemiological aspects. From a total of 358 schoolchildren from southern Brazil, overall pediculosis prevalence was 45.5%, while active pediculosis prevalence was 13.1%. Regarding active pediculosis, there was no statistical difference among sex. However, nine-year-old girls were most likely to have active pediculosis. The vacuum method was 5.96 and 11.29 times more efficacious than the magnifying glass method and the comb method, respectively, and also had higher sensitivity (74.5%) in detecting active pediculosis. When analyzing hair characteristics, children with long and wavy/curly hair were more often diagnosed by the vacuum method than children with short and wavy/curly hair. The vacuum method was the most effective method and proved to be an optimal option to detect active pediculosis among schoolchildren, mostly in children with wavy/curly hair.

PERBANDINGAN METODE PRELOADING DENGAN VAKUM KONSOLIDASI TANAH PADA PEMODELAN DI LABORATORIUM

ABSTRACT This study aims to determine the parameter comparison of the magnitude of the primary reduction and consolidation time in the preloading method using PVD and vacuum method using PVD with modeling in the laboratory. The benefit of this research is that it can provide a comparison of the preloading method and the vacuum method in terms of accelerating the consolidation time as well as contributing to science in the field of soil improvement. Primary consolidation theory is used in this research. Quantitative descriptive research method with testing data collection techniques by means of modeling in the laboratory. The modeling of the vacuum method used a test tub measuring (1.2 × 0.6 × 0.9) m, the vacuum pump suction capacity of 5 Pa, the air hose as PHD and geomembrane cloth as PVD material. The preloading method with PVD uses a test tub measuring (0.8 × 0.6 × 0.9) m, preloading load in the form of bangka sand (ɣ = 1.532 t / m³) with a thickness of 10 cm and a geomembrane cloth as PVD material. In each test basin filled with soil and water with a soil volume weight of 1.3 t / m³, a ground surface height of 0.5 m and a groundwater level of 0.42 m. The results showed that with the same amount of reduction, namely 7.26 mm preloading method using PVD took 81 hours while in the vacuum method the time needed was 41 hours. Thus it can be concluded that the reduction in the vacuum method is faster than the preloading method with PVD. Keywords: Primer settelment, PVD, Vacum, consolidation time

Crystallization of carboplatin-loaded onto microporous calcium phosphate using high-vacuum method: Characterization and release study

Drug delivery systems are a new approach to increase therapeutic efficacy and to reduce the side effects of traditional treatments. Calcium phosphates (CaPs) have been studied as drug delivery systems, especially in bone diseases. However, each system has some particularities that depend on the physical and chemical characteristics of the biomaterials and drug interaction. In this work, granulated CaPs were used as a matrix for loading the anticancer drug carboplatin using the high-vacuum method. Five compositions were applied: hydroxyapatite (HA), β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP), biphasic HAp 60%/β-TCP 40% (BCP), β-TCP/MgO nanocomposite, and β-TCP/SiO2 nanocomposite. Carboplatin drug in 50, 60, and 70 mg/g was precipitated on the surface of CaPs. Morphological, chemical and surface modifications in the carboplatin-CaPs were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), backscattered electron microscopy (BSE), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), and Raman spectroscopy. The characterization of the CaP-carboplatin biomaterials showed heterogeneous crystalline precipitation of the drug, and no morphological modifications of the CaPs biomaterials. The in vitro release profile of carboplatin from CaPs was evaluated by the ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) method. The curves showed a burst release of upon 60% of carboplatin loaded followed by a slow-release of the drug for the time of the study. The results were typical of a low-interaction system and physisorption mechanism. The high-vacuum method permitted to load the high amount of carboplatin drug on the surface of the biomaterials despite the low interaction between carboplatin and CaPs.

House dust mites (Acari: Astigmata) from mattresses in Panama

The name “house dust mites” is commonly used to refer to species of mites belonging mainly to the Pyroglyphidae family (Astigmata) that are found in association with dust in the human dwellings. They represent the main source of allergens in the home and can cause allergic diseases. Mattresses often provide ideal conditions for mite colonization. In order to compare the diversity of house dust mites in the provinces of Panama and Panama Oeste in 2015, we collected dust from the surfaces of mattresses over an area of one square meter using the vacuum method. We obtained 50 samples using the vacuum method and recovered 10,225 mites. We found that the mites in our samples belonged to 15 families, 15 genera and 22 morphospecies. Relatively, high mean densities of mites per gram of dust on mattresses were obtained in the provinces of Panama (3,577 mites/g of dust) and Panama Oeste (6,273 mites/g of dust). The mite Blomia tropicalis was the most abundant species in mattresses in the Province of Panama and Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus was the most frequent one in Panama Oeste. Our results indicate that the mite community in mattresses is similar between PA and PO. However, our results differ significantly from those found in bedroom floors in a previous study. These differences correspond to a lower species richness, higher density and relative abundance of Astigmata mites in mattresses.