A methodological quality score for each relevant element was obtained by taking the lowest rating of any item for that element (‘worse score counts’).36 Two authors (JR, LR) independently assessed the risk of bias in included studies, with consensus achieved by discussion. Studies involving adults (ie, aged 18 check details years or older) with chronic pain, fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue disorders were eligible. Studies were required to have assessed the psychometric properties of any of the following submaximal exercise tests to be eligible: Åstrand test; modified Åstrand test; Lean body mass-based Åstrand test; submaximal bicycle ergometer test following a protocol other than the Åstrand test; 2-km

walk test; shuttle walk test; modified symptom-limited Bruce treadmill test; and walking distance over 5, 6 or 10 minutes. Data were extracted, where available, for the following

reliability coefficients: intra class correlation selleck screening library (ICC), alpha reliability coefficient, limits of agreements, and Bland-Altman plots. Data were also extracted for the validity coefficients: ICC, Spearman’s correlation, Kendal T coefficient, and Pearson’s correlation. Dropout rates were also recorded. The following data were extracted from each eligible study and tabulated: study design, participants (sample size, age, diagnosis), aim, exercise test, psychometric outcomes and methodological quality. Data for individual studies were reported quantitatively and the evidence was also summarised qualitatively. No meta-analyses were performed because of heterogeneity among the study designs used, heterogeneity of the psychometric properties evaluated and incomplete reporting of the data. The evidence was graded, based on the number of studies, their methodological quality, and the consistency of the available

evidence into five categories: strong (consistent also findings in two or more high-quality studies); moderate (consistent findings in one high-quality and one low-quality study, or in two or more low-quality studies); limited (only one study); conflicting (inconsistent findings); and no evidence (no studies). The authors considered findings to be consistent if at least 75% of the available studies reported the same conclusion37. The search yielded 3496 records, which amounted to 2637 potentially relevant articles after removal of duplicates. After initial screening, 74 of these articles were obtained in full text for further assessment. The final selection included 14 studies involving 1275 participants. The selection procedure and the reasons for exclusion are presented in Figure 1. Inter-rater agreement about the eligibility of studies was assessed by using an unweighted Kappa. Unweighted Kappa for the selection of abstracts was k = 0.91, unweighted Kappa for the selection of full texts was k = 0.74; this is considered to be excellent inter-rater agreement.

This study describes the efficacy of the interventions (N95 respirators and medical masks) in preventing bacterial colonization and co-infection in HCWs. Recruitment commenced on December 1, 2008 and final follow-up completed on

January 15, 2009. 1441 HCWs in 15 hospitals were randomized to one of three intervention arms: (1) Medical masks (3M™ medical mask, catalog number 1820); (2) N95 fit tested mask (3M™ flat-fold N95 respirator, catalog number 9132); (3) N95 non-fit tested mask (3M™ flat-fold N95 respirator, catalog this website number 9132) (MacIntyre et al., 2011). A secure computerized randomization program was used to randomize the hospitals to each intervention. A convenience control group of 481 HCW who did not routinely wear masks were recruited and prospectively followed up in the same way as the trial participants for the development of symptoms. The study protocol was approved by the Institutional

Review Board (IRB), Human Research Ethics Committee of the Beijing Ministry for Health. Staff who agreed to participate provided informed consent. The primary study endpoint was the presence of laboratory-confirmed bacterial colonization of the respiratory tract in subjects who were symptomatic. We tested for S. pneumoniae, Legionella spp., B. pertussis, Chlamydia, M. pneumoniae or H. influenzae type B by multiplex PCR. These organisms have been reported in the HCW setting ( Kurt et al., 1972, Rudbeck et al., 2009 and Wang et al., 2011). We also looked at co-colonization Ribociclib with more than one bacteria, and co-infection with a laboratory-confirmed viral infection and bacterial colonization. Laboratory-confirmed Rebamipide viral respiratory infection was defined as detection of adenoviruses, human metapneumovirus, coronaviruses 229E/NL63 and OC43/HKU1, parainfluenza

viruses 1, 2 and 3, influenza viruses A and B, respiratory syncytial viruses A and B, or rhinovirus A/B by nucleic acid testing (NAT) ( MacIntyre et al., 2011). Nurses or doctors who worked full time in the emergency or respiratory wards at the participating hospitals were eligible. HCWs were excluded if they: (1) were unable or refused to consent; (2) had beards, long mustaches or long facial hair stubble; (3) had a current respiratory illness, rhinitis and/or allergy; and (4) worked part-time or did not work in the selected wards/departments (MacIntyre et al., 2011). Subjects were randomized to masks or respirators, and wore the mask or respirator on every shift (8–12 h) for four consecutive weeks and were shown how to wear it and fit it correctly. Participants were supplied daily with three masks for the medical mask group or two N95 respirators. They were asked to store the mask in a paper bag every time they removed it (for toilet breaks, tea ⁄lunch breaks and at the end of every shift) and place the bagged mask or respirator in their locker.

100 nm) have been used. Sicastar rather resembles SNPs that are used for industrial purposes and embodies a cytotoxic NP, which is supposed to evoke inflammatory responses to study GDC-0449 solubility dmso cell communication processes in the coculture. Whereas AmOrSil is

prospectively envisaged for in vitro studies concerning drug and gene delivery and is proposed to be nontoxic. AmOrSil has a magnetic core, which may be useful for therapeutic applications (hyperthermia, magnetic resonance imaging or drug delivery) [10] and [11]. At first, the cytotoxicity (MTS and LDH) was studied on H441 and ISO-HAS-1 in MC and CC. Subsequently, NP uptake behaviour of the epithelial cells (H441) in CC was compared to the epithelial cells kept in MC by fluorescence intensity measurements. Furthermore, transport of NPs across the NP-exposed epithelial layer with subsequent uptake by the endothelial layer (ISO-HAS-1) on the opposite side of the this website transwell filter membrane was examined. In addition, NP-exposed cells were immunofluorescently counterstained for endosomal marker proteins such as clathrin heavy chain or caveolin-1 as well as flotillin-1 and -2 to examine specific uptake mechanisms such as clathrin-dependent or caveolae-dependent endocytosis. Finally,

the release of inflammatory mediators (IL-8, sICAM) has been examined after NP exposure to the apical side of the coculture (H441) to study inflammatory responses and cell communication Dichloromethane dehalogenase processes between epithelial and endothelial cells. In correlation with the uptake/transport experiments with the coculture, these results provide an approach to the hypothesis concerning indirect (forwarded inflammatory mediators caused by NPs) or direct (translocation of NPs) extrapulmonary effects caused by inhaled nanoparticles. AmOrSil nanoparticles were synthesised and delivered by Stefanie Utech (Department of Physical Chemistry of the Johannes Gutenberg University,

Mainz). These NPs are magnetic nanocapsules with magnetic iron oxide particles incorporated into a poly(organosiloxane) network that carries an additional PEO shell. The synthesis of the poly(organosiloxane) core–shell nanoparticles was performed in aqueous dispersion by co-condensation of a mixture of alkyldialkoxysilanes (diethoxydimethylsilane) and alkyltrialkoxysilanes (trimethoxymethylsilane and (chloromethylphenyl)trimethoxysilane, as functional monomers) in the presence of a surfactant. Rhodamine B was covalently incorporated into the entire SiOx-matrix. Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (γ-Fe2O3) with an average radius of 3.2 nm were encapsulated during the polycondensation process. Water-solubility was achieved via a grafting-on process, in which linear PEG (poly(ethylene glycol), MW: 1650 g/mol) was covalently attached to the poly(organosiloxane) surface. The magnetic nanocapsules have a primary particle radius of 48.1 nm. Synthesis and characterisation have previously been described by Utech et al.

The following section reviews anatomical and physiological characteristics of the LC-NE system that have implicated the system in stress. More detailed information about this system and its other putative functions that are outside the scope of this review can be found in (Aston-Jones et al., 1995; Foote et al., 1983; Berridge and Waterhouse, 2003). The LC is a compact cluster of NE neurons in the pons that serves as the primary source of brain NE (Grzanna and Molliver, 1980). A distinguishing anatomical feature

of the LC is its widespread, highly collateralized projection system that innervates the entire neuraxis (Aston-Jones et al., 1995 and Swanson and Hartman, 1976). Through this axonal system the nucleus LC can broadly influence neuronal activity selleck chemicals llc throughout the brain. Notably, the LC serves as the primary source of NE in forebrain regions such as the hippocampus and cortex that govern cognition, memory and complex behaviors. selleck The physiological characteristics of LC neurons have been studied in vivo in rodents and non-human primates and in vitro in slice preparations and have implicated this system in arousal, attention and behavioral flexibility (Aston-Jones and Bloom, 1981a, Aston-Jones and Bloom, 1981b, Foote et al., 1980, Williams and Marshall,

1987 and Aston-Jones and Cohen, 2005). LC neurons discharge spontaneously and their tonic rate is positively correlated to arousal state (Aston-Jones and Bloom, 1981b and Foote et al., 1980). However, the relationship between neuronal activity and arousal is more than just correlation because selective activation or inhibition of LC neurons results in cortical and hippocampal electroencephalographic (EEG) activation or inhibition, respectively, indicating causality between LC discharge rate and arousal (Berridge and Foote, 1991 and Berridge et al., 1993). As described below, LC activation is necessary for cortical EEG activation by stress (Page et al., 1993). In addition to spontaneous firing, Rutecarpine LC neurons are phasically activated

by salient, multimodal stimuli that elicit a burst of discharge followed by a period of inhibition (e.g., Fig. 1) (Aston-Jones and Bloom, 1981a), (Aston-Jones and Bloom, 1981a and Foote et al., 1980). The phasic response precedes orientation to the eliciting stimuli, suggesting that the LC-NE system redirects attention towards salient sensory stimuli. LC neurons are thought to discharge synchronously during phasic activation as a result of electrotonic coupling through gap junctions between dendrites outside of the nucleus, in the peri-coerulear (peri-LC) region (Ishimatsu and Williams, 1996). In contrast, during spontaneous or tonic LC discharge, the neurons are thought to be uncoupled (Usher et al., 1999).

880 and 1.857 and 2.151, Ion Channel Ligand Library 1.543 and 1.542 at HQC, MQC and LQC levels respectively. The experimentally determined accuracy of the proposed method was presented in Table 2. Typical LC/MS/MS chromatograms for standard and test were presented in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5. LOD and LOQ can be expressed as a concentration at a specified signal: noise ratio

usually between 3:1 and 10:1 respectively. In the present study the LOD was determined to be 5 ng/mL with a signal:noise ratio of 3.1. The LOQ was 10 ng/mL with a signal:noise ratio of 10.2. The percent of RSD for six replicate injections of the LOQ solution was found to be less than 2.0%. The LOD and LOQ values were given in Table 3. To study the response of the instrument as a function of concentration of analyte (linear calibration curve), a series of different concentration solutions from 5 to 2000 ng/mL were prepared in triplicate and chromatograms were obtained by injecting 10 μL of each solution by LC-ESI HRMS. The calibration curve (Fig. 6) was plotted for the mean peak area of the chromatogram against INCB28060 nmr the concentration of the MMF. The developed method showed linearity from 10 to 2000 ng/mL. The range of an analytical procedure is the interval between the upper and lower concentration of analyte in the sample for which it has been demonstrated

the analytical procedure has a suitable level of precision, accuracy and linearity. The range of this analytical method was found to be 10 to 2000 ng/mL. The linear regression coefficient (r2) was found to be 0.9999 for all the analyte. The results were presented in Table 4. In the present investigation study of robustness was demonstrated with the following changes (a linearity Thiamine-diphosphate kinase and three concentrations range batch performed with the small changes in the method, there is a) one change pH of the mobile phase ±0.1 and mobile phase composition ±10% of Acetonitrile. These changes may not affect or alter the entire or end result of the method. In the study of robustness, linearity and three concentrations range batch performed with the changes in chromatographic conditions and found there was no change in the end result of the

study. The results were presented in Table 5. Study of ruggedness was found by making changes in the analytical column or change in the analyst it may not affect the end result of the analytical method. In the study of ruggedness, linearity and three concentrations range batch performed with the change in the different lot analytical column usage, there is no change in the end result of the study. Different pharmaceutical formulations were analysed by the developed method and the percent of drug content present in these formulations were reported. MMF tablets of 20 mg or 40 mg dosage were purchased from local market. Weight of each tablet was accurately determined by using high precision analytical balance and average weight of five 20 mg (or 40 mg) tablets was calculated and then these tablets finely powdered in a mortar.

The median infant birth weight was 3.1 kg (IQR 2.95, 3.4). Seventy-one infants completed visit 10 (48 weeks) within the scheduled visit window, with one infant attending late, giving an overall retention of 99% at 48 weeks. There were no significant differences between the KRX-0401 mw 2 groups at baseline ( Table 1). Most vaccinated infants had pain, redness

and hardness on day 1 and 2 post-vaccination (Table 2). One week post-vaccination, 1 infant had grade 1 pain, 2 had redness measuring 0.3 and 0.5 cm and 14 had hardness with median (range) diameter of 0.5 (0.1–1) cm. All these events had resolved by 8 weeks post-vaccination. Three infants had lymphadenopathy measuring 0.5 cm in 2 infants and 0.6 cm in 1 infant at

week 1; these resolved by week 8. Another infant had lymphadenopathy measuring 0.5 cm at week 8 (Table 2). As previously reported, 58% infants displayed hematologic toxicities pre-randomization [5]. However, there were no significant hematology or biochemistry differences between the vaccinees and controls post-vaccination (Table 3). There were 8 severe adverse events, 5 in the vaccine arm and 3 in the control arm. Among vaccinees, 1 infant had an upper respiratory tract infection, 2 had gastroenteritis, 1 had septicemia and 1 had a depressed skull fracture, while among controls, 2 infants had neutropenia and 1 had pneumonia (Table 4). None of these events were considered vaccine-related. A total of 262 ex vivo

Trametinib in vitro IFN-γ ELISPOT assays were conducted for 72 infants, with 18, 28, 14 and 12 infants tested at 5, 4, 3 and fewer time points, respectively. Results were also obtained for a total of 142 cultured assays from 51 infants with 39 and Thiamine-diphosphate kinase 12 infants tested at 3 and 2 time points, respectively. Overall, no positive HIV-1-specific T-cell responses were detected using either of the IFN-γ ELISPOT assays, although transiently higher frequencies were detected in the MVA.HIVA arm (p = 0.002) in fresh ex vivo assays, but not above the threshold frequencies considered as a positive result (Supplementary Table S1). Note, that infants have up to 15-fold higher PBMC counts per 1 ml of peripheral blood compared to adults. KEPI vaccinations elicited protective antibody levels to Hib, poliovirus, diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis in a majority of the infants with no statistically significant differences between the two arms (Table 5). For HBV, immune response to vaccine differed between the two groups; 71% of MVA.HIVA arm subjects versus 92% of control subjects achieved protective antibody levels to HBV (≥10 mIU ml−1) 1 week post-vaccination (p = 0.05), reflecting the greater drop in levels in the MVA.HIVA arm between weeks 19 and 21 (p = 0.025). Infants’ blood was regularly tested for HIV-1-specific DNA or antibodies. Post-randomization, all infants remained HIV negative at repeated serial testing.

YP4 was a kind gift from the late Dr. C. Milstein (Medical Research Council for Molecular Biology,

Cambridge, United Kingdom) while the P148 producing anti-NS1 mAb was developed and characterized in our laboratory. The quadroma cell line (P156) was also developed in our laboratory fusing P148 and YP4. Cell culture media RPMI 1640 and Penicillin-streptomycin-glutamine (PSG) were purchased from Gibco (Grand Island, Crizotinib mw New York, USA). Fetal bovine serum (FBS) was purchased from PAA laboratories (Pasching, Austria). Goat anti-mouse IgG conjugated to horseradish peroxidase (GAM-HRPO), bovine serum albumin (BSA), polyethylene glycol (PEG) 1300–1600, fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC), tetramethylrhodamine isothiocyanate (TRITC), HRPO Type IV, Protein G-agarose, m-amino phenyl boronic acid (m-APBA) agarose, and long chain sulfosuccinimidyl NHS biotin were purchased from Sigma Chemicals (St. Louis, Missouri, USA). Streptavidin tagged HRPO (St-HRPO) was purchased from BD Biosciences (San Jose, California, Bcl-2 inhibitor USA). Tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) was purchased from BioFx Laboratory (Burlington, North

Carolina, USA). For Western blots, hybond-ECL nitrocellulose membranes were procured from Amersham Biosciences (Freiburg, Germany) and the Western blot detection system was procured from GE Healthcare (Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA). Non-sterile flat bottom NUNC maxisorp 96-well ELISA plates were purchased from VWR (Ontario, Canada). Fluorescence activated cell sorter, FACS Aria (BD Biosciences, USA), was accessed from the Department of Medical, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Alberta. For protein purification, we used a Biologic Duoflow system (Bio-Rad, USA) while the ELISA absorbance was read

using a Versa max microplate reader (Molecular Devices, USA). MycoClean Mycoplasma Removal Kit Rabbit serum was obtained from the Health Sciences Laboratory Animal Services (HSLAS), University of Alberta. The full length NS1 nucleotide sequence of dengue virus serotype 1 was codon optimized for prokaryotic expression and synthesized from GENEART (Burlington, Ontario, Canada). The optimized NS1 gene was PCR amplified and cloned in the correct reading frame in pBM802 vector along with the His6 tag at the C-terminal for enhanced expression of proteins in inclusion bodies of Escherichia coli. The recombinant clones were analyzed by restriction digestion fragment mapping and the correct clones were subsequently selected for protein expression. Protein purification was done by IMAC chromatography from inclusion bodies according to a previous protocol. 6 The NS1 protein was used to develop anti-NS1 mAb and bsmAb for the development of this ultrasensitive immunoassay. Immunizations were performed in accordance with the guidelines of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.

08. The results obtained by laser light scattering tests were higher than those observed by SEM that was related Galunisertib manufacturer to hydrodynamic diameter of swollen polymeric

nanoparticles in water.10 Drug loading and entrapment efficiency for all samples are shown in Table 1. The choice of the method to produce nanoparticles is strongly dependent on the identity of the drug that is going to be encapsulated. Hydrophobic water-insoluble drugs are more efficiently encapsulate by the simple ESE or nanoprecipitation.11 The main problem in the preparation of carvone and anethole loaded nanoparticles was volatility of them. So in this study a method with the shortest time of process to achieve the nanoparticles with lowest evaporation carvone and anethole was assessed. In ESE method, evaporation of organic phase takes a long time (about 3 h) and probably we lose a lot of carvone and anethole. The highest drug loading in this method was 0.29% for anethole and 0.33% for carvone. Hence, nanoprecipitation method without evaporation and freeze drying steps was applied and antimicrobial test was examined in suspension form of nanoparticles. The highest drug loading in this method was 14.73% for anethole and 13.64% for carvone. Some of advantages associated with this method

like: large amount of toxic solvents are avoided, small particle size with narrow size distribution are obtained, and without the use of external energy source.12 The main problem with the nanoprecipitation is the frequent agglomeration of particles due to Palbociclib datasheet the lack of a stabilizer. This can be solved using efficient stirring, by slow addition of the organic phase to the aqueous phase, and by selection of an adequate solvent system.12 The high DCM/acetone volume ratio in the organic phase of ESE method led to an improvement in entrapment efficiency but this improvement was not so through significant (2.9% for anethole and 3.35% for carvone). Rapid diffusion of acetone into the outer phase may be the reason for such low entrapment efficiency. The high polymer/drug concentration in the injection phase with the low ratio of water: DMSO led to a significant improvement in

entrapment efficiency of nanoprecipitation method (87.3% for anethole and 68.2% for carvone). The in vitro release behavior of the two essential oil-loaded nanoparticles is summarized in the cumulative percentage release shown in Fig. 3. The initial burst release was detected for both nanoparticles during the first 6 h. The carvone-loaded nanoparticles showed a higher burst release (36%) compared with the anethole-loaded nanoparticles that release only 16% during the same time period. The ether group of anethole makes it more lipophil than carvone that leads to more encapsulation of anethole and takes longer time to diffuse from nanoparticles to the buffer phosphate medium. The initial burst could be ascribed to antimicrobial agent distributed at or just beneath the surface of the nanoparticles.

, 1997). While there

appears to be no neuronal loss, there is evidence for glial cell loss and smaller neuronal cell nuclei (Rajkowska, 2000 and Stockmeier et al., 2004), which is consistent with a shrinking http://www.selleckchem.com/products/Gemcitabine-Hydrochloride(Gemzar).html of the dendritic tree described above after chronic stress. Indeed, a few studies indicate that pharmacological treatment may reverse the decreased hippocampal volume in unipolar (Vythilingam et al., 2004) and bipolar (Moore et al., 2000) depression, but the possible influence of concurrent cognitive-behavioral therapy in these studies is unclear. Depression is more prevalent in individuals who have had adverse early life experiences (Anda et al., 2010). BDNF may be a key feature of the depressive state and elevation of BDNF by diverse treatments ranging from antidepressant drugs to regular physical activity may be a key feature of treatment (Duman and Monteggia, 2006). Yet, there are other potential applications, such as the recently reported ability of fluoxetine to enhance recovery from stroke (Chollet et al., 2011). However, a key aspect of this new view (Castren and Rantamaki, 2010) is that the drug is opening a “window of opportunity” that may be capitalized by a

positive behavioral intervention, e.g., behavioral therapy in the case of depression or the intensive physiotherapy to promote neuroplasticity to counteract the effects of a stroke. This is consistent with animal model work that shows that ocular dominance imbalance from early monocular deprivation can be reversed by patterned light exposure Galunisertib in adulthood that can be facilitated by fluoxetine, on the one hand (Vetencourt et al., 2008) and food restriction, on the other hand (Spolidoro et al., 2011). Investigations of underlying mechanisms for the re-establishment of a new window of plasticity are focusing on the balance between excitatory and inhibitory transmission and removing molecules that put the “brakes” on such

plasticity through (Bavelier et al., 2010). It is important to reiterate that successful behavioral therapy, which is tailored to individual needs, can produce volumetric changes in both prefrontal cortex in the case of chronic fatigue (de Lange et al., 2008), and in amygdala, in the case of chronic anxiety (Holzel et al., 2010). This reinforces two important messages: i. that plasticity-facilitating treatments should be given within the framework of a positive behavioral or physical therapy intervention; and ii. that negative experiences during the window may even make matters worse (Castren and Rantamaki, 2010). In that vein, it should be noted that excess BDNF also has the ability to promote pathophysiology, such as seizures in some instances (Heinrich et al., 2011, Kokaia et al., 1995 and Scharfman, 1997). Beyond recognizing resilience as “achieving a positive outcome in the face of adversity”, the flexibility of the brain based upon healthy architecture emerges as a primary consideration.

Recently efforts are being made to explore the hidden wealth of medicinal plants for contraceptive use. With the exciting prospects of

gene therapy, herbal medicine remains one of the common forms of therapy, available too much of world’s population, to maintain the health and to treat diseases. In the present study was aimed to evaluate the anti-fertility effect of newly developed herbal oral contraceptive (HOCS) suspension containing 70% methanol extracts of Capparis aphylla aerial part and Carica papaya leaves. Previous studies found that the both extracts showed potent anti-fertility LY294002 concentration activity. These findings suggested that suitable formulations of these materials could serve as potential herbal drug candidates. Hence, the authors tried to develop suitable herbal formulations of the extracts of these medicinal plants to exploit their potential anti-fertility activity. The administration and the induction of systemic effects of the drugs under research were done by oral route. The suspension dosage form is suitable for the products that are physically and chemically stable.2 and 3

Methanol (70% v/v) extracts of C. aphylla aerial part (MECA), C. papaya leaves (MECP) were used in this study. selleck chemicals llc Oral suspensions that contained extract of plants showing potential male anti-fertility activity were prepared by the trituration method using a suitable suspending agent and other excipients. 4 The amount of individual plant required for the formulation HOCS was calculated based on the therapeutically effective dose (dose at which plant showed maximum activity) of that plant. That is, the maximum effective dose of individual plants was found to be 300 mg/kg for MECA, and 300 mg/kg for MECP. Thus, the average effective

dose of combined extracts is calculated by dividing sum of maximum effective doses individual plant by number of plants. Therefore, the content of individual plant required for formulating HOCS were calculated from the average effective dose of the combined extracts by ratio proportion method. More over the authors developed three doses of pharmaceutically stable oral suspensions containing Non-specific serine/threonine protein kinase 200 mg/kg, 300 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg per body weight contraceptive principles with convincing quality control parameters. Therefore, the present study was taken to assess the comparative contraceptive/anti-fertility activity of different doses of HOCS for their effective contraceptive efficacy in mature male rats. The effect of HOCS formulation on spermatogenesis of sexually mature male rats was determined by studying the following parameters: The cauda epididymal duct on one side was exposed and incised. The connective tissue capsule around the epididymis was teased out and the duct was uncoiled.