Context: Menstruation is one of the most basic characteristic features of girls and inadequate knowledge of adolescent girls about menstruation can result in faulty menstrual hygiene management (MHM) and inappropriate dietary management both of these can causes diseases which is a major threat for adolescent health in developing countries like Bangladesh. Aim: To identify current knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to menstruation and menstrual hygiene management (MHM) among adolescent girls. Settings and Design: It is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in Jashore, Bangladesh. Methods and Materials: A pre-formed, pre-tested questionnaire was used. The questionnaire-based survey was conducted among randomly selected 250 adolescent girls between 10 and 19 years. Statistical analysis used: Data were analyzed statistically by Microsoft office excels and SPSS windows version 16 software programs. Results: Among 250 adolescent girls majority had their menarche between 12 and 15 years of age, 70% of adolescent girls of this study belonged to lower class families. This study revealed that 85% of the respondents had regular menstruation whereas 15% had irregular menstruations also. Most of them faced different types of Premenstrual syndrome including 76% from headache, 80% from lower abdominal pain, and 62.5% from fatigue and weakness. Only 56% had previous knowledge about puberty before attaining menarche. There was a statistically significant correlation between the mother’s education and the knowledge of participants about menstruation at puberty. All the participants used to bath and wash hand after changing pads whereas 80.8% used to avoid all types of exercises. Almost 94% of respondents used to dispose of their napkins properly. The micro-nutrient deficiency was also common; especially 49.2% were suffering from Iron deficiency and 69.6% from folic acids deficiency. Conclusion: Awareness programs regarding both menstrual hygiene and dietary management can aid to alleviate some complications during puberty and ensure better health for adolescent girls.
Vitamin C is associated with history of the cause of the ancient hemorrhagic disease scurvy. Vitamin C is an essential nutrient with important antioxidant properties. It is required by the body for normal physiological function. The body cannot synthesize vitamin C, it is present in nature through foods and other natural sources and it exists as a nutritional food supplement. The antioxidant activity of vitamin C protects the body from free radical damage. Vitamin C is essential for the development and maintenance of connective tissues. It is used as therapeutic agent in many diseases and disorders. Vitamin C plays an important role in several metabolic functions, as the conversion of the amino acid, tryptophan, to the neurotransmitter, serotonin, and the conversion of cholesterol to bile acids. Vitamin C supplementation resulted in a significant increase in vitamin C levels in populations; its high intake is associated with positive effects on cardiovascular risk factors. Vitamin C protects the immune system, reduces the severity of allergic reactions and helps to fight infections. It has an important role in bone formation, wound healing and the maintenance of healthy gums. There is profound beneficial effect of vitamin C in respect to human diseases as cancer, atherosclerosis, diabetes, neurodegenerative disease and many metal toxicities. Several vitamin C analogs have been produced as anticancer and antioxidant activity. Vitamin C is useful if it is used as adjuvant therapy for several chronic diseases. Thus, this review summarizes the importance of vitamin C in the body’s physiology and biochemistry, in addition, the different mechanisms that vitamin C is implicated to treat different acute and chronic diseases. Future exploration should pay attention to chronic disease management by vitamin C.
Mediterranean journal of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences
Lack of development of adequate social skills of special need students results in many disruptive behavior and poor academic gains. School setting is also an indicator of rise in academics and learning of social skills. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the social skills development and educational outcomes of special need students attending special and inclusive settings. Only 110 visually impaired students (60 from special and 50 form inclusive school setting) represent as special need children who participated as sample of the study. Data were collected from 5 Special Schools for Visually Impaired and 5 Inclusive Schools located in Delhi and NCR. Hindi Version of the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters: Self-rating form (MESSY) by Sharma (2000) was used to assess social skills development and to measure the educational outcome, aggregate percentage marks obtained by the students in their previous year‟s annual examination were collected from the records of the schools. Hypotheses formulated for this study were verified by applying appropriate statistical techniques- Mean, Standard Deviation and t-test. Significant differences found in the development of social skills and educational gains of the special need children in special vs. inclusive settings. Inclusive setting, to a great extent provides conducive learning environment and platform to develop social skills. Results of the study recommend implications for special and normal children, teachers and administrators.
In the Indo-Pak subcontinent, the traditional systems of medicine, both Ayurvedic and Unani, are primarily based on herbs and herb-based preparation for therapy. Therefore, the importance of the herbal identification process remains critical in achieving the desired and successful therapeutic effect. To support the manufacturers and practitioners of both systems, many herbs are still collected from wild sources, as herbal farming is not very developed in this part of the world. During a survey program conducted in different areas of Pakistan, significant lacks and gaps were noted to be present in the identification & characterization of herbs, which needs to be addressed and fulfilled as many species look alike apparently or physically but have different biological or pharmacological activity. Based on this objective and approach, Centella asiatica was selected for the pharmacognostic and preliminary phytochemical investigation to establish a better correlation and to provide useful methods in its identification as the use of Centella asiatica is very common in Pakistan and other South Asian countries for CNS disorders therapy. Therefore, this study aimed to develop & report some and rapid identification methods for Centella asiatica. The present study includes physical, physicochemical, preliminary phytochemical and fluorescence analysis. For the first time, in the present study, NIR and FT-IR spectra of Centella asiatica have been reported for identification. The findings of the present study are quite promising and can be helpful for the manufacturers and researchers in the identification and development of Centella asiatica-based new drugs or formulations.
Human resource practices are strategic in nature. They represent a vital guidance system that coordinates with executive business plan. HR practices form the foundation supporting the way of bank’s human capital will operate effectively. This research has estimated the impact of HR practices among the employees working in private sector banks on their productivity in Coimbatore district of Tamilnadu. In this research, the researcher has taken randomly around 125 banking employees working in private sector banks in Coimbatore district. A structured questionnaire has framed and collected their opinion about the HR practices which were practiced in their banks. Their opinion were subdued into tables by using percentage analysis, mean score analysis, correlation analysis and regression analysis. The results showed that PG qualified employee whose age between 41 to 50 years have more impact of HR practices and their productivity also high
The current study seeks to develop and validate a high-performance liquid chromatography method for atorvastatin diastereomer separation and analysis. In particular, we wish to identify the many diastereomers in atorvastatin, which can help us to better understand their pharmacological properties and provide significant information for pharmaceutical applications. Atorvastatin was chromatographed on a Chiralcel® OD-RH column and n-hexan-2-propanol (95:05 v/v) as the mobile phase, with an injection volume of 10 µL. The solution was pumped at a continuous flow rate of 1 mL/min, with a detection wavelength of 260 nm. The investigation found two peaks with retention times of 3.23 and 3.85 min, respectively. The resolution, capacity, and selectivity factors obtained were Rs = 1.2, k′1 = 3.50, k′2 = 4.37, and α = 1.24.
Mediterranean journal of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences
Micro Gas Turbines (MGTs) are compact power generation systems that offer several advantages such as highpower density, low emissions, and fuel flexibility. They are commonly used in remote areas where grid connectivity is limited or unreliable. However, MGTs suffer from inherent instability issues due to their small size and high rotational speeds. These instabilities can lead to irregular speed responses, affecting the overall performance and reliability of the system. To address these concerns, the researchers utilized a genetic algorithm (GA)-based approach and conducted sensitivity studies to analyze the iteration parameter of the GA and its impact on the speed response of the MGTs. To evaluate the performance of the developed solution, they employed the Mean Step of Absolute Speed Error (MSASE) evaluation metric and compared the outcomes of the proposed strategy with a baseline Proportional Integral (PI)-only solution. The results demonstrated that the proposed solution surpassed the baseline approach by delivering a superior error response. Similarly, the findings suggested that the optimal iteration parameter setting for the GA was a maximum of 30 compared to 20 and 10 consequently lessening the settling time from 140s to 60s. Accordingly, the researchers concluded that optimizing the GA's iteration parameter could lead to enhanced stability in the speed response of the MGT units. Subsequently, this can bolster the power generation capacities of the units, highlighting the potential for enhanced efficiency and stability in MGT operations. As a final recommendation, the study advised practitioners working with MGTs to adopt the proposed GA-based speed control strategy to optimize the overall performance and reliability of these units.
Several diseases affect maize plants and one among them is black bundle disease, causal organism of which is yet to be confirmed with conflicting reports appearing in literature. In the present work, an effort was made to record the disease incidence by carry out filed surveys in Southern most district of Karnataka state, India and also to isolate and identify the causal organism. The surface sterilized pith tissue from the infected plants was cultured on PDA medium to identify the organism in the affected vascular tissue. The isolated tissue produce Cephalosporium acremonium which was confirmed based on morphological characters. In addition, Simplicillium sp. and Macrophomina phaseolina were also isolated from the same infected plant material and suspected to have participated in the disease development. In accordance with several reports in literature, Cephalosporium acremonium was tested and confirmed as the causal organism of disease in green house experiments by following the Koch’s postulates. This is in contrast with some earlier reports, wherein the exact symptoms of black bundle disease were reported as barren stalks in corn caused by Fusarium sp. The simplicillium sp. which had morphological similarity with C. acremonium and had an ambiguous taxonomic status in literature was confirmed as a distinct species through PCR based diagnosis.
Monitoring and controlling of clean area environment is of paramount importance to ensure product safety and quality. This comprehensive analysis evaluates environmental monitoring (EM) data from Class C and Class D controlled environments in pharmaceutical manufacturing, utilizing Active Air (AA), Passive Air (PA), and Contact Plate (CP) or Replicate Organism Detection And Counting (RODAC) surface samples. The study aims to identify contamination trends, anomalies, and compliance with ISO 14644-1 and EU GMP Annex 1 standards. Results reveal unexpected findings: Class C Active Air (43 CFU/m³) and RODAC (3 CFU/plate) overall averages are higher than Class D Active Air (34 CFU/m³) and RODAC (2 CFU/plate), respectively, deviating from expected cleanroom classification. Class D Passive Air (22 CFU/plate) is higher than Class C (17 CFU/plate), aligning with expectations. Persistent hotspots were identified in Class C (e.g., location labelled “AA C 12 NG0”AA averages± Standard Deviation (SD): 67.33±17 CFU/m³), indicating localized control failures, while Class D showed extreme individual spikes (e.g., AA D 99 Ac: Max 171 CFU/m³). Sporadic contamination events in Class C suggest transient breaches, necessitating root-cause investigations. The study also highlights limitations of Class D monitoring, which obscures temporal trends and risks missing critical excursions due to long intervals between samples. Recommendations include targeted engineering assessments for high-load zones, enhanced Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for cleaning and gowning, adoption of real-time biofluorescent particle counters to replace manual sampling, and increased monitoring frequency in Class D hotspots.
Computer-assisted disease diagnosis is cost-effective and time-saving, increasing accuracy and reducing the need for an additional workforce in medical decision-making. In our prior research, we trained, tested, and compared the accuracies of nine optimizable classification models to diagnose and predict eight anaemia types from Complete Blood Count (CBC) data. This study aimed to improve these classification models by oversampling the original imbalanced dataset with four algorithms related to the Synthetic Minority Over-sampling Technique (SMOTE). The results showed that the validation accuracy increased from 99.22% (Ensemble model) to 99.57% (Tree model), and most importantly, the False Discovery Rate (FDR) for the anaemia type with the highest FDR decreased from 23.1% to 1.5%.
Background: Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) has not been widely investigated in young adults. This study aims to describe the risk factors of ICH with a focus on the possible effect of non-modifiable risk factors, such as genetic factors, to assess the ICH outcomes, and to identify the prognostic factors after ICH among young adult patients. Methods: This prospective and observational study was conducted at two hospitals at Hamad Medical Corporation, Qatar, namely Hamad General Hospital and Alkhor Hospital. The study included young patients (16–45 years old) admitted with ICH between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2018. Results: We examined 238 consecutive young patients with ICH consisting of 212 (89.1%) males and 26 (10.9%) females. The mean age was 37.8±6.23 years. The most common risk factor found in 187 (78.6%) patients was hypertension (HTN), while 19 (8.0%) patients had no obvious risk factors (cryptogenic). The primary site of bleeding was cerebral cortex (lobar) in 107 (44.96%) patients and then basal ganglia in 97 (40.76%) patients. The in-hospital mortality was 19 (8.0%); the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale >14 on admission (adjusted OR=2.06; 95% CI=1.448–2.938; p<0.001), Barthel index score ≤40 on admission (adjusted OR=1.09; 95% CI=1.015–1.178; p=0.019), and HTN (adjusted OR=0.075; 95% CI=0.008–0.724; p=0.025) were found to be independent predictors of in-hospital mortality by multivariate analysis. A 1-year follow-up showed mortality in 7 (3.2%) patients and no new events in 139 (63.8%) cases. Conclusion: HTN, smoking, and excessive alcohol consumption are important modifiable risk factors for ICH among young patients in Qatar, requiring early identification and treatment to prevent this dangerous type of stroke. In addition, we recommend conducting further studies focusing on the genetic risk factors of ICH among young adults, particularly those with cryptogenic ICH, to identify whether genetic risk factors are involved.
The samples of K1-xNaxNbO3 (X=0.4, 0.2, 0) ceramics (PSN) have been prepared by the conventional solid state reaction method and sintering process. The prepared samples have been characterized by XRD. All the prepared samples show orthorhombic structure at room temperature. Dielectric and Electrical properties of PSN system have been investigated in the temperature range 450C-2450C, and at 1MHz frequency. It is observed that dielectric constant, loss tangent and electrical conductivity increases with increasing temperature. Near the transition temperature dielectric constant, loss tangent and electrical conductivity of these samples show anomalous behaviour with temperature.
The space-time dynamics of chlorophyll a concentration and seawater excess viscosity has been investigated in the hydrographically contrasting inshore and offshore water masses of the eastern English Channel. This was done during the phytoplankton spring bloom dominated by Phaeocystis globosa before and after the very large-scale formation of foam induced by an increase in wind-driven turbulence and the related wave breakings. The results suggest that the dynamics of chlorophyll a concentration and seawater excess viscosity are differentially controlled by the formation of foam through the intensity of the spring bloom and wind-generated turbulence.
Industrial waste is one of the most essential sources of contamination in the environment. Chromium (Cr) is a toxic heavy metal, a major contaminant in tannery wastes and its accumulation in soil and water is a major environmental concern today. In the present study, an attempt was made and investigated the status of different beneficial microbes particularly plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) from tannery sludge samples collected from tannery effluent treatment plant at Dindugal, Tamil Nadu, India. Experiments were conducted and evaluated their chromium heavy metal tolerance abilities and plant growth promoting activities under in-vitro. Based on molecular analysis, the PGPRs were identified as Achromobacter xylosoxidans (LK391696), Azotobacter vinelandii (LK391702) and. The production of IAA was found to be high by Achromobacter xylosoxidans (46μg/ml) followed by Azospirillum lipoferum (30μg/ml). Phosphate solublization activity was also found to be positive in all these PGPR isolates. Significance of these results revealed that there is a possibility of using these potential PGPRs for bioremediation of chromium contaminated sites and also as good plant growth promoter.
The Cellular Manufacturing is adopted in batch type manufacturing industries nowadays for their production with increased productivity, less cost and time with effective control. The proposed optimization model is used to determine the cost of machine cells, i.e., machine duplication, part subcontract, inter intra cellular movements cost and cost of production associated with machine cell, such as machine reconfiguration and part inventory considering machine flexibility for various time periods. Initially, mathematical model is proposed to calculate machine cell cost with and without considering machine flexibility and then another lpp integer model is proposed to calculate the machine cell production and associated cost for the changes in time period, part type and volume considering machine flexibility. The manufacturing data in the incidence matrix and machine cell, part family data in the block diagonal form are given as input to the optimization programming language Cplex and the output are given for the two mathematical models. The data related to machine duplication, part subcontract, inter intra cellular movement; machine reconfiguration and part inventory are given. Two dimensional shop floor layouts are presented in rectilinear coordinates for all the problems for easy analysis of material movement length and shop floor area
Assessing students' progress in introductory programming courses is crucial for identifying learning gaps and improving teaching methods. This study evaluates the effectiveness of Moodle-based tests with randomized questions in monitoring student progress in C programming courses at J. Selye University during the 2023/24 academic year. A series of ten tests were administered across two courses, covering essential programming topics such as data types, variables, conditional statements, loops, two-and three-dimensional arrays, recursion, and sorting algorithms. The results revealed significant variations in student performance, with recursion and the pretest/posttest loops presenting the greatest challenges. The correlation analysis of test scores showed strong relationships among related topics, confirming the structured progression of the curriculum. These findings suggest that Moodle-based assessments offer valuable insights into students' learning trajectories, enabling educators to adapt their instructional strategies accordingly. Such insights can help optimize introductory programming curricula, enhancing student engagement and understanding.
The study was conducted on glass slides to observe the growth patterns of urinary calcium oxalate monohydrate crystals and their inhibition using 5, 10, 15 and 20 % Phaseolus lunatus seed infusion. For this purpose, a drop of gel medium (sodium metasilicate of 1.06 specific gravity and 3M acetic acid solution) at pH 5.02-5.17 was placed in the middle of a glass slide and converted into a gel. A 1 M oxalic acid drop was dropped to the left, and 1 M calcium chloride and magnesium acetate (1:1) solution was dropped to the right side of the properly formed gel. The glass slide was observed under a microscope till it was completely dried. In the case of the crystal inhibition study, a drop of Phaseolus lunatus infusion was also added to the right side after adding calcium chloride and magnesium acetate solution. The results without infusion showed detailed morphology and aggregation patterns of observed crystals such as donuts, dumbbells, needles, platy, prismatic, rosette, round edges, X-shape crystals, and loose and compact aggregates. All infusions of Phaseolus lunatus showed defective crystals. 5% infusion inhibited crystals of all morphologies with their loose and compact aggregates except X-shaped crystals and rosettes. Meanwhile, 10% and 15 % infusions decreased X-shaped and rosette crystals. 20 % infusion showed defective rosettes. The microscopic study of calcium oxalate crystal growth and its inhibition is simple and provides rapid qualitative analysis of antiurolithiatic activity.
Bacteria that colonize plant roots and enhance the plant growth are denoted as Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR). The objective of this study is to isolate and identify Oryza sativa indigenous rhizobacteria and test for its, bio-control and various plant growth promoting traits under in-vitro condition. Nine rhizobacterial colonies isolated from healthy rice rhizosphere soil were screened for bio-control activity against rice pathogen Helminthosporium oryzae (rice brown spot) and Rhizoctonia solani (sheath blight) by performing dual culture method. The isolate B9 showed maximum antagonism against R. solani (73.7%) followed by isolate B2 (51.2%), isolate B1 (47.5%) and isolate B5 (42.5%) with different range of mycelial inhibition. Among nine rhizobacterial isolates tested, the growth of pathogenic fungi H. oryzae was only inhibited by the isolate B9 (20.5%). The isolates B1, B2, B5 and B9 exhibited maximum bio-control activities were further screened for different PGP traits, such as Phosphate (P) solubilization, Indole-3-Acetic Acid (IAA) production, Hydrogen Cyanide production (HCN) and extracellular enzyme production under in-vitro condition. The isolate B9 revealed the maximum P solubilization efficiency (99 SE), 45 μg/ml of IAA, HCN, amylase and cellulase production in maximum amount. The isolate B9 exhibited maximum bio-control, and PGP traits were identified by morphological and biochemical characterization and it was identified as Bacillus subtilis. In pot experiment, the rice seeds treated with B. subtilis exhibited significant shoot and root biomass when compared with un-inoculated rice and fungus-infected rice. This study highlighted the beneficial properties of native PGPR’s on growth promotion of rice and it could be formulated as bio-control as well as plant growth promoting agent, to reduce the application of chemical fertilizers in agricultural lands.
Alternative Learning System (ALS) has been adopted in Philippine basic education, yet there is no academic institution in the region prepares ALS teachers in teaching life skills. ALS teachers graduated from different programs of teacher education for formal education. In response, an extension project was conceptualized and implemented to enhance the teaching capacity and effectiveness of ALS teachers. Case study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the project. It explored the transfer of life skills among ALS teachers. Data were collected from multiple sources. Interview and written responses, and feedback were analyzed using thematic narrative analysis. Other data were analyzed using document and descriptive analyses. The project had achieved its objectives and rated best by participants. These indicate that the project was implemented effectively and successfully. ALS teachers have acquired life skills and transferred them to others. Thus, the project has made a difference in the lives of these teachers.
The purpose of this meta-methods study (i.e., involving the full[er] integration of multiple methods research approaches and mixed methods research approaches) was to examine challenges experienced by students at Stellenbosch University that hinder their ability successfully to learn online during the emergency remote teaching that began in April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, 1,932 students completed an online questionnaire. Analyses of the open-ended responses via WordStat 8.0.29 topic modeling (i.e., crossover mixed analysis) led to the identification of seven (challenge) themes that categorised the students’ challenges. In turn, via a principal component analysis of the themes (i.e., crossover mixed analysis), these seven themes were collapsed into four dimensions (i.e., meta-themes). A latent class analysis (i.e., qualitizing) yielded seven profiles of students. Disaggregating the themes by demographic and location variables led to the identification of subgroups who are most at risk for experiencing each challenge type. Implications of these and other findings are discussed.