There is an upsurge in gestational diabetes mellitus with many devastating consequences for the mother and developing fetus. Insulin therapy remains a mainstay. However, insulin is expensive and comes with the pain of multiple injections. Therefore, there is a need to explore commonly administered oral hypoglycemic agents to cater for the increasing gestational diabetes mellitus-associated neurological complications. This study assesses the effects of glibenclamide, metformin and insulin on the pups’ prefrontal cortex in diabetic pregnant rats. 35 sexually matured adult female rats weighing between 120 g and 160 g were used and assigned into five groups (A to E) of seven rats each group. Diabetes was induced by streptozotocin (45 mg/kg and 35 mg/kg; ip). Hyperglycemic rats were treated with insulin (1.0 UI daily), metformin (200 mg/kg/day) and glibenclamide (0.6 mg/kg/day). Body weight and blood glucose levels were evaluated. Rats were sacrificed at 18-day gestation, the pups were harvested, and their brains were processed for tissue oxidative stress markers and various histological examinations. Glibenclamide and metformin caused a significant blood glucose reduction at 37.9% and 40.7%, respectively, compared to the insulin group (33.09%). There was no significant difference in the body-organ ratio in rats treated with metformin when compared to rats treated with insulin. Metformin and glibenclamide had a significant increase in tissue glutathione reductase and a decrease in malondialdehyde compared with insulin and diabetic control groups. The pups’ prefrontal cortex showed degenerated neuronal cells in the diabetic control animals. The diabetic rats treated with metformin and glibenclamide showed improved pyramidal neurons compared with diabetic and insulin groups. This study suggests that metformin and glibenclamide glycemic control may prevent and improve antioxidant enzymes and reverse some neurotoxic effects caused by streptozotocin-induced diabetes in rats.
Mediterranean journal of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences
ROS (Reactive Oxygen Species) production via oxidative stress leads to selective neuronal degeneration and finally results in neurodegenerative diseases. PD (Parkinson’s disease) is one of the second most common neurodegenerative disease caused by overproduction of ROS due to the activity of xanthine oxidase. XO activity inhibitors may prove to be promising antiparkinson agents. Present investigation describes the synthesis and characterization of fluoro substituted pyrazolyl pyrazoline derivatives using spectrometer and 1HNMR spectra. Molecular docking studies of NAP1-NAP5 derivatives were performed in silico using molecular docking software. The resulting dock score in terms of D score has been compared with the standard XO inhibitor i.e. Allopurinol and Oxypurinol. The in silico approach used to study the Drug and Enzyme interaction using docking mechanism. Results indicated that the NAP derivatives accounted for better region specificity towards XO. It shows the strong binding interaction of ligand and receptor calculated on the basis of D score; hence the D score shows highest affinity. Overall score tabulation for D score as 2NAP1: -101.78; 2NAP2: -118.32; 2NAP3: -99.921; 2NAP4: -105.22; 2NAP5: -101.56; accordingly with the comparison of standard ligand molecule i.e. Allopurinol: -37.016 and Oxypurinol: -37.233.
Legumes are the richest source of protein, starch, minerals, and vitamins and are considered the earliest domestic plants. They belong to the leguminosae family, one of the largest and most important families of flowering plants. The present review describes the history, consumption, nutritional aspects, traditional medicinal uses, pharmacology, and commercial aspects of legumes.
Tremendous growth has been incorporated in the field of composite materials in the current scenario where the engineering applications are highly demandable. Currently composites are being used to replace conventional metallic materials in a wide range of industries including aerospace, defense, aircraft, and textile which require structural materials with high strength-to-weight and stiffness-to-weight ratios. Also natural fiber composites are currently replacing synthetic fiber composites of different applications in various engineering industries due to their low cost and eco-friendly in nature. In this work, twisted kenaf, and twisted kevlar (aramid fibers) have combined together to enhance the mechanical properties and also to improve high impact resistance with less contribution of kevlar which is very high in cost categorized next to carbon fibers. Here, the hybrid composites (natural and aramid) are done by using hand layup method, and various mechanical properties have been investigated. Also, the morphological analysis is done to observe the internal structure of the tested composite. It is observed that hybrid composite has high strength with minimum contribution of kevlar fibers.
Strain improvement studies were conducted for the production of L-asparaginase from a marine fungus Beauveriabassiana SS18/14 by employing physical and chemical mutagens, in a systemic manner to obtain mutants that have higher L-asparaginase production. The wild strain produced 6.32 IU/mL of L-asparaginase activity while the UV mutant UVF-4 yielded 8.34 IU/mL and nitrous acid mutant UVF4-N-2 exhibited 10.44 IU/mL enzyme activity. The overall strain improvement programme increased L-asparaginase activity 1.65 times with respect to the parent wild strain
One of the unique features of Indian society is prevalence of caste system which was originated thousands of years back to demarcate the people engaged in different occupation or jobs. Initially it was not much rigid but gradually people belonging to upper castes for their own selfish means to maintain their monopoly made this arrangement hereditary and started treating people of lower castes disgracefully. For preservation of this system, people started controlling their women to prevent inter-caste marriages and the concept of endogamy came up. This robbed away many types of freedom from women. For women belonging to lower castes, this situation is worse as they are doubly subjugated on the basis on caste as well as gender. Men belonging to their own caste treat them as secondary beings. This paper throws light on this intersection. How intersection of these two kinds of inequalities place them at the lowest position in Indian society. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar rises as their leader who all his life worked for empowerment of downtrodden section of society. He argues that education is the primary tool for evading these differences among people. He further emphasizes to adopt the concept of exogamy to break the backbone of Indian caste system and to immediately leave a religion or culture which legitimizes such system of inequality among people of the same land.
The research paper aims to find out the relevance of the existing support system for accelerating women entrepreneurship development and how these entrepreneurial support services of various Institutions expedite the process of social inclusion of women. The study has been conducted in the West Tripura District between January to August 2022. A total of 385 women entrepreneurs who were trained under government institutions were considered as the sample size. The primary data was collected directly from the field on basis of secondary information from Government Departments. The purposive sampling method has been deployed to identify the respondents for conducting the sample survey .
Regularly used toothbrushes can be heavily contaminated with microorganisms, while inappropriate storage may increase the microbial load on these toothbrushes. Toothbrushes Microbial contamination can help to transmit many diseases, especially for people with mouth and/or Gum problems. This study aims to find the easiest and most available way to sterile toothbrushes at home. 24 adult volunteers were divided into four groups, the first three groups were asked to sterilize their toothbrushes with Dettol, water salt and hot water, while the fourth group toothbrushes were a positive control. Results showed that toothbrushes sterilized with Dettol gave the least contamination rate of 12.5%, toothbrushes sterilized with salt came next with 37.5%, while toothbrushes sterilized with hot tap water were the next with 50%. The toothbrushes of the fourth group which was used as the positive control were totally contaminated with different types of bacteria. Six bacterial agents were isolated; they are Staphylococcus Sp., Streptococcus sp., Bacillus Sp., E.coli, Pseudomonas Sp., and Salmonella sp. It was concluded that the use of Dettol was very effective in reducing the number of contamination of toothbrushes but its unacceptable flavour limiting its use. Other volunteers were comfortable with the use of salt and hot water as it was almost effective. The research suggests a group of recommendations to avoid the transmission of pathogens through toothbrushes and ensure healthy usage.
Background In 2016, the Tanzanian government shifted the vaccine supply chain responsibilities from the Medical Store Department (MSD) to the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) to reduce costs. However, cost estimates that informed the decision were based on invoice value of vaccines and related supplies, rather than a proper economic evaluation study. Therefore, this study aims to compare the actual storage and distribution costs of vaccines and related supplies between MSD to EPI. Method Micro-costing approach was used to estimate resource use at MSD and EPI for the year 2018. Data were collected through a review of documents, warehouse databases, and interviews with key staff at MSD and EPI. We included both capital and recurrent costs. Microsoft Excel® was used for analysis with input data from the UNICEF forecasting tool, WHOs vaccine volume and capacity estimation tool, diesel generator calculator, and supply chain service fee estimator version 1.02. Results The total vaccine storage and distribution costs were estimated to be USD 1,996,286 at MSD and USD 543,648 at EPI. Distribution and program management costs represented 41% (USD 819,288) and 38% (USD 762,968) of the total costs at MSD, while storage and distribution costs represented 43% (USD 234,423) and 34% (USD 184,620) of the total costs at EPI, respectively. The cost drivers at MSD were fuel and transport (21%), receiving and dispatch (19%) and, program management personnel cost (14%), while at EPI were storage space (20%), program management personnel cost (18%) and fuel and transport (15%). Conclusion The storage and distribution of vaccines in Tanzania via the EPI reduced the vaccine supply chain cost to about 27% of the program costs at MSD.
Foreign bodies (FBs) in the scalp are a common incident following head trauma, especially in traffic accidents, and are detected in the early post-traumatic period. The persistence of these FBs may cause pain and paresthesia. We report a case of 41 years old man, whose victim it’s been 20 years of physical aggression, in which the victim was hit by a brick occasioning a frontal wound stitched at the time without sufficient exploration. Months later, the patient presented several episodes of a frontal scalp nodular lesion with pus leakage (Fig. 1). The lesions were only treated with local antibacterial agents. Four years before the patient consults at our level, he consulted a dermatologist who performed a removal of the skin lesion. Months later, the lesion reappeared. At our level the clinical examination suspected a bone lesion, so CT was performed. Brain imaging was strongly evoking bone tumors or osteitis (Fig. 2). The patient was operated on under general anesthesia. First, a carcinogenic removal of the scalp lesion was performed; then, when reaching the bone, hard red friable bodies well separated from proportionally healthy bone were found. Those findings raise suspicion of the presence of FBs nested in the bone from the first head trauma. Hence, a carcinologic removal of the affected bone was postponed, and simple curettage was performed (Fig. 3). The post-operative course was without complications. The histological study confirmed per-operative findings: Multiple stony FBs associated with inflammatory reaction especially lymphocytes around vessels and the FBs.
This paper examines the influence of empowerment on job satisfaction in five-star hotels in Jordan. The influence of empowerment on job satisfaction remains a relatively unexplored area. A 52-item questionnaire, measuring empowerment and job satisfaction, was distributed to 332 employees in 12 five-star hotels in Jordan with a 56% response rate. Principal components analysis determined the factor structure and regression analysis determined the influence of empowerment on job satisfaction. The results revealed both structural and psychological empowerment have significant individual influences on job satisfaction, but more significant when structural and psychological empowerment are combined. Most of previous studies were conducted in western economies and little in the Middle East generally and Jordan in particular. This research contributes to the literature by including both dimensions of empowerment where previous scholars used only one.
The primary cause of many fatalities is hypertension (high blood pressure). Many hypertensive patients are not even aware that they have the condition. As a result, hypertension is sometimes referred to as a silent killer. Until the harmful effects of high blood pressure, such as myocardial infarction, stroke, renal abnormalities, and vision problems, are identified, hypertension is typically asymptomatic. Without the use of herbs and dietary control, conventional medication therapy could not be enough to treat hypertension. The growing number of persons with high blood pressure can be effectively treated using alternative medicine. Numerous alternative therapies, such as diet, exercise, stress management, vitamins, and herbs, have been proven to be effective in lowering high blood pressure. There are several medications available to treat this disorder however popular antihypertensive medications typically have a long list of adverse effects. Numerous active ingredients with pharmacological and preventative qualities found in medicinal plants can be used to treat hypertension. This review discusses an overview of important medicinal plants and phytochemicals with hypotensive or antihypertensive effects.
Mediterranean journal of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences
The kidney stones are one of the most widely spreading disorders in the world. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of ethanolic extract of Didymocarpuspedicellata and Ashwagandha for its antiurolithiatic activity in rats. Urolithiasis was induced in adult male albino wistar rats by 0.75% of ethylene glycol for 28 days. The effect of the oral administration of the ethanolicextracts has been studied and is compared with the effect of oral administration of Cystone(Himalaya) as a standard on Wistar rat. Ethylene glycol feeding resulted in hyperoxaluria as well as increased renal excretion of calciumand phosphate. Supplementation with ethanolic extract of the plants significantly reduced the elevated urinary oxalate, showing a regulatory action on endogenous oxalate synthesis. Both the plant extract showed significant antiurolithiatic activity
WSN is a low-power system and are often used in numerous monitoring uses, such as healthcare, environmental, and systemic health surveillance, in addition to military surveillance. It is important to reduce network resource usage since many of these applications need to be installed in locations that are virtually inaccessible to humans. Many protocols for WSN to extend the presence of the network have been established to solve this problem. In the energy efficiency of WSN networks, routing protocols play an important role since they help minimize power usage and response time and provide sensor networks with high data density and service quality. This study also employed a Hopfield neural network and the findings from this study are presented next to each other to enable comparison. This paper also discusses how to easily and accurately capture and handle WSN collisions. Future experiments that require the usage of neural networks and so many fuzzy structures will be able to prevent a crash in these respects.
This study presents a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of household consumption research in Maharashtra from 2017 to 2023, highlighting shifts in academic focus before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis explores key research trends, including foundational theories like the Keynesian consumption function and Engel’s law, while examining how themes such as income-consumption relationships, inequality, and economic resilience have evolved. Through citation network analysis, publication trends, and thematic evolution, we identify the most influential works, authors, and institutions that have shaped this field. Pre-pandemic research centered on established economic concepts, exploring factors like income distribution, economic growth, and household debt as predictors of consumption. However, post-2020, there is a marked shift towards understanding financial resilience, the impact of income shocks, and the role of government interventions in stabilizing consumption patterns during crises. This transition reflects an adaptation of traditional consumption models to account for pandemic-induced economic disruptions, emphasizing financial literacy and digital transformation as critical areas of study. Our findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the drivers of household consumption research in Maharashtra, providing insights into the socio-economic factors that influence spending behaviors in both stable and volatile conditions
Mentoring relationships between a senior, experienced faculty member and a junior employee, between a faculty member and an undergraduate or graduate student, or between a senior and a junior student is essential in higher education. The current review aims to emphasize the necessity of establishing organized mentorship programs at national institutions to enhance academic performance, teaching/learning effectiveness, knowledge and skill development, growth and development, research productivity, and community engagement. The mentor and mentee both benefit from the mentoring relationship. Academic advising, preceptor supervision, and supervision of graduation projects are different from the mentoring relationship as they focus on only one aspect of the relationship, whether it is the study plan, the study session, or the project, respectively. Mentoring is a mutually beneficial relationship that calls for integrity, decency, self-assurance, trust, and respect. Educational institutes and colleges should set up a committee to establish a well-organized mentoring program with all the necessary templates for recruiting mentors and mentees, and also for annual evaluation and feedback from all parties involved.
Mediterranean journal of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences
Background: Exhaust noise is known to be a major pollutant in the environment and workplaces due to the development of industry and transportation. Exhaust noise can be reduced to normal levels by mufflers or silencers. A reactive muffler efficiently dampens noise at low frequencies by reflecting sound waves. Therefore, muffler design is of great importance in exhaust noise reduction. Transmission loss (TL) is an essential characteristic of mufflers, demonstrating their acoustical properties. Any acoustical appliance is selected based on its damping performance and reliability. Predicting TL through experimentation is different from theoretical calculations. Methods: In the present study, a double-expansion chamber muffler was designed as a reflective muffler on a laboratory scale by equations. Next, TL was evaluated by an impedance tube applying a 4-microphone technique to determine the acoustical performance of the designed muffler. Results: Findings revealed that the TL of the muffler at 312 Hz frequency obtained 27.5 dB agreement with the required TL of the muffler of 25 dB. In addition, the TL of the muffler against frequency attenuates noise in broadband frequencies. Conclusions: These results indicated that the built muffler provides desired TL for exhaust chambers. Therefore, equations can be used as a precise method for muffler design. Furthermore, multi-expansion chamber mufflers are useful for reducing noise at a wide range of frequencies.
Background and Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic affected medical care systems including stroke care, globally. In this study, we investigated the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on stroke care in Hadramout, in terms of rate of admission, access to care, risk factors, clinical presentation, and outcome. Materials and Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study comparing all stroke patients admitted to Ibn-seena University Hospital (ISTH), Mukalla, Hadramout, during two periods, May 1–October 31, 2020, during the pandemic of COVID-19 (COVID-19 group), and from May 1 to October 31, 2019 (pre-COVID-19 group). Data collected from patients’ medical record files into a master sheet, and were processed by the Statistical Package for Social Sciences software. Results: There were 117 stroke patients admitted in COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and 213 patients admitted in the same period in 2019. Stroke admission declined by 45.1% (Odds Ratio [OR]=0.30, 95% confidence interval [CI] [95% CI]: 0.22–0.42, p<0.0001) with no age and sex differences. Hypertension (HTN) and diabetes mellitus were more frequent in COVID-19 group than the pre-COVID-19 group (OR=1.74, 95% CI: 1.08–2.80, p=0.02) and (OR=1.81, 95% CI: 1.14–2, 88, p=0.01), respectively. No significant difference in other risk factors was found. Patients in COVID-19 group arrived the hospital more late than the patients in pre-COVID-19 group (OR=2.63, 95% CI: 1.64–4.21, p<0.0001). Dysphasia and altered consciousness including coma were more common in COVID-19 group compared with pre-COVID-19 group (OR=4.5, 95% CI: 2.18–9.08, p<0.0001) and (OR=3.2, 95% CI: 2.00–5.12, p<0.0001), respectively. Hospital stay was greatly reduced among COVID-19 group as compared with pre-COVID-19 group (02.9±0.31 days vs. 8.6±0.92 days, p<0.0001) Mortality rate was higher among COVID-19 group than the pre-COVID-19 group (41.9% vs. 27.2%, p=007). Conclusion: The number of stroke patients admitted during the COVID-19 pandemic decreased, they arrived late and spent shorter hospital stays while having higher rates of HTN, diabetes, and impaired consciousness with a high mortality rate.
The global burden of metabolic disorders, including obesity and type 2 diabetes, necessitates innovative therapeutic strategies. SLU-PP-332, a synthetic agonist of estrogen-related receptor α (ERRα), has emerged as a promising exercise mimetic, demonstrating preclinical efficacy in enhancing mitochondrial biogenesis, insulin sensitivity, and energy expenditure. This brief review synthesizes current knowledge on SLU-PP-332 and related ERRα agonists, highlighting their molecular mechanisms, preclinical outcomes, translational challenges, and ethical considerations. ERRα activation by SLU-PP-332 upregulates peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PGC-1α), driving fatty acid oxidation and mimicking exercise-induced metabolic adaptations. However, pan-ERR activity raises concerns about off-target effects such as cardiac hypertrophy and hepatotoxicity. Despite robust preclinical data, clinical translation remains hindered by the absence of human trials and undefined long-term safety. Future research must prioritize isoform-selective agonist design, rigorous clinical validation, and equitable access frameworks.
Background: Cancer is burden for almost all societies in the world. It is estimated that approximately 20 million persons are suffering with cancer and every year 10 million die due to cancer. Methods: A descriptive and comparative survey from January 2024 to June 2024 with a quantitative research approach was used. The non-probability convenient sampling technique was used, and 60 nurses (30 each from Cancer Hospital; and General Hospital) had given consent for participation in the study. The tools used for data collection were personal profile, structured knowledge questionnaire, modified Likert-type attitude scale, and opinionnaire for utility of SIM. Results: The study found that 83.35% of General Hospital and Cancer Hospital nurses had strong knowledge, while 10% and 6.66% had low knowledge. All nurses from both institutions have mildly positive to extremely positive thoughts about how oral cancer affects oral hygiene and nutrition. Mean knowledge scores of nurses from General and Cancer hospitals were 14.73 and 16.33, and mean attitude scores were 149.80 and 150.20. Cancer hospital nurses' expertise and attitude correlated significantly. The results show that 86.67% of nurses believe SIM is a valuable source of information and content to assist them better manage oral cancer patients' oral hygiene and nutrition. Conclusions: The study found that cancer hospital nurses had a higher mean knowledge score than general hospital nurses. Thus, knowledge and attitude are linked, and nurses with higher knowledge have a more positive attitude.