Vitamin D deficiency and its effect have attracted a considerable research interest due to its relation to glucose homeostasis, insulin secretion, sensitivity and synthesis. The aim of this study was to evaluate vitamin D levels in patients with type II diabetes mellitus aged between 35 - 65 years and investigating their relations with glycemic control and obesity. The study included 74 Libyan patients with known history of type II diabetes mellitus (33 males and 41 females). Serum glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and vitamin D levels were biochemically estimated in these patients. Further, body mass index (BMI) was calculated for all the diabetic patients (weight in kilogram per height in meter square). The mean level of plasma glucose level was 150.58 ± 63.82 mg/dl (mean ± SD). The mean of HbA1c level was 7.90 ± 8.48% (mean ± SD). The mean level of vitamin D was 22.7 5 ± 14.97 ng/ml. The mean of BMI was 26.55 ± 4.10 Kg per m2. The findings showed that 58.10% of the cases had vitamin D deficiency (Out of which 24.24% were males and 85.36% were females). This study showed statistical significance differences in glucose, HbA1c, vitamin D and BMI between male and female patients. Moreover, elderly ages for both sexes had adverse effects on vitamin D status. Vitamin D levels have negatively been correlated with levels of glucose, HbA1c and BMI. It is concluded that vitamin D deficiency has an adverse effect on glucose homeostasis in patients with type II diabetes mellitus and this can be a contributor risk factor in complications of type II diabetes mellitus development in Libyan patients.
Mediterranean journal of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences
Host plant resistance is an important tool for minimizing the losses in pigeonpea due to spotted pod borer, Maruca vitrata, which is the most threatening hidden pest of pigeonpea crop. Experiment was carried out to study the morphological and chemical traits in pigeonpea associated with expression of resistance to M. vitrata and their incidence in different sowing dates. The incidence of M. vitrata varied significantly among different sowing dates. Crop sown on D2 (1st week of July) resulted in maximum pod infestation by M. vitrata (13.1%). Minimum pod infestation (2.3%) and (2.9%) was recorded in D4 (3rd week of July) and D1 (3rd week of June) sown crop, respectively. Among different varieties, AL-201 registered lowest pod infestation (4.3%) as compared to Pusa-992 (7.9%). The non-glandular (type A), and glandular (type B) pod trichome density of top, middle and lower canopy of the plant and the pod wall thickness was responsible for the resistance to M. vitrata. Whereas, non-glandular (type C) pod trichomes, pod length, seed width and number of seeds per pod were associated with the susceptibility to spotted pod borer. Expression of resistance to M. vitrata pod infestation was associated with low amounts of crude protein and total soluble sugar and higher amount of fat content, phenol content and tannin content of seed as well as pod wall
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
This mathematical model forms machine cells, optimises the costs of unassigned machines and components, and designs the shop floor cell layout to have minimal movement of materials. The complete similarity measure algorithm forms machine cells and part families in a refined form. Later, exceptional elements are eliminated in the optimisation model by using machine duplication and sub-contracting of parts. Then the shop floor layout is designed to have optimised material movements between and within cells. An evaluation of the cell formation algorithm’ performance is done on the benchmark problems of various batch sizes to reveal the process’s capability compared with other similar methods. The data of machining times are acquired and tabulated in a part incidence matrix, which is used as input for the algorithm. The results from the linear programming optimisation model are that costs are saved, machines are duplicated, parts are sub-contracted, and there are inter- and intra-cellular movements. Finally, the output of the inbound facility design is the floor layout, which has machine cell clusters within the optimised floor area.
Melioidosis is an infection that causes high morbidity and mortality. Predisposing risk factors include diabetes mellitus (DM) and immunocompromised state. We report a case of septic shock secondary to bacteremia caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei in a patient who is supposed to be previously healthy and subsequently diagnosed with DM and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency. He completed 17 days of intravenous antibiotics followed by a 12-week course of oral trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. We postulate that G6PD deficiency could be a risk factor for melioidosis.
The contribution of financial perspective measures to improving organizational performance is empirically examined in this article. The study examines how financial metrics like ROI, cost control, profitability, and revenue growth relate to organizational effectiveness using the case of MTN Ghana. It is based on the balanced scorecard framework. The study uses a quantitative approach to investigate the relationship between financial performance metrics and important success indicators like market share, operational effectiveness, and shareholder value, using data from a dataset of different companies in multiple industries. The results of the study show how important financial perspective metrics are for reaching competitive advantage and sustainable growth. Businesses that put a high priority on strategic fiscal management typically perform better, especially when it comes to cost-effectiveness, liquidity, and profit margins. But the study also highlights the drawbacks of depending only on financial indicators. To create a more thorough performance evaluation system, it emphasizes the need to combine financial measurements with non-financial indicators like employee development, internal processes, and customer satisfaction. In summary, the study offers practitioners and scholars useful information by offering evidence-based recommendations for enhancing financial strategies. Organizations can develop a balanced approach to performance measurement that promotes long-term success by using both financial and non-financial metrics. The article ends with practical suggestions for businesses looking to increase output and streamline their budgets.
Network on Chips are becoming an important aspect in areas of multiprocessor chip design and high performance computing. Reduction in usage of excess amount of hardware in router design without operating all parameters can improve the performance of the system. The practical review of various routers applied in future of networking is carried out in this paper. Fundamental design considerations and various components involved in router design in terms of communication, energy management and power conversion is summarized in detail. A brief comparison of various routers designed previously has been made along with design aspects for 3D Torus router.
Abstract This paper evaluates the Ethiopian VAT tax type based on ten good tax principles that are: Equity and Fairness, Certainty, Convenience of payment, Economy in collection, Simplicity, Neutrality, Economic Growth & Efficiency, Transparency & Visibility, Minimum tax Gap, Appropriate Government revenue. The findings of this evaluation revealed VAT which six principles are under positive effect in Ethiopia meets of six Conon of the good tax system. Those are: Certainty for taxpayers, Convenience at the time of payment, neutrality, economic growth and efficiency, transparency and visibility, appropriate government revenue. Finally, the author suggests recommendation that could be used by the government in general and tax authorities in particularly in the preparation of future tax proposal reform and issuance of any directive, proclamation, rule, and procedure which is going to implemented need to encapsulate this Canon as Guiding route to improve service delivery and alleviating problem emanated from shortcoming from the administration.
A major hallmark of Parkinson's disease is loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc). The pathophysiological mechanisms causing this relatively selective neurodegeneration are poorly understood, and thus experimental systems allowing to study dopaminergic neuron dysfunction are needed. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) differentiated toward a dopaminergic neuronal phenotype offer a valuable source to generate human dopaminergic neurons. However, currently available protocols result in a highly variable yield of dopaminergic neurons depending on the source of hiPSCs. We have now developed a protocol based on HBA promoter-driven transient expression of transcription factors by means of adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors, that allowed to generate very consistent numbers of dopaminergic neurons from four different human iPSC lines. We also demonstrate that AAV vectors expressing reporter genes from a neuron-specific hSyn1 promoter can serve as surrogate markers for maturation of hiPSC-derived dopaminergic neurons. Dopaminergic neurons differentiated by transcription factor expression showed aggravated neurodegeneration through α-synuclein overexpression, but were not sensitive to γ-synuclein overexpression, suggesting that these neurons are well suited to study neurodegeneration in the context of Parkinson’s disease.
Assessment of convergent validity of latent variables is one of the steps in conducting structural equation modeling via partial least squares (PLS-SEM). In this paper, we illustrate such an assessment using a loadings-driven approach. The analysis employs WarpPLS, a leading PLSSEM software tool.
The study examined public-private sectors’ collaboration in human resource management and curriculum development in the administration of public senior secondary schools in Rivers State. The study adopted the descriptive survey design. Two research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. The population of the study comprised 281 principals in the 281 public secondary schools in Rivers State. The proportionate stratified random sampling technique was used to draw up sample of 259 principals representing 92.2% of the population of the study (211 male principals and 70 female principals). An instrument titled: Public-Private Sectors’ Collaboration for School Administration Questionnaire (PPSCSAQ) designed in the modified 4-point Likert Scale with a reliability index of 0.87 was used for data collection. The face and content validities were ensured. Mean and standard deviation were used in answering the research question while z-test was used in testing the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The finding of the study showed that to a high extent public-private sectors collaborate in human resource management and curriculum development in the administration of public senior secondary schools in Rivers State. It was recommended among others that the government should provide enabling environment and formulate favourable policies to sustain public-private sectors’ collaboration as it ensures effective human resource management in the state.
Introduction: Apophyseal avulsion fractures of the pelvis predominantly occur in adolescent athletes due to skeletal immaturity. The anterior inferior iliac spine (AIIS) is a rare but characteristic site of injury. Case Presentation: We report the case of a 15-year-old male football player who sustained a traumatic avulsion of the right AIIS. The diagnosis was confirmed radiologically, and the patient was managed conservatively. Results: The clinical course was favorable, with a return to sports at three months. Conclusion: Early diagnosis and conservative management typically allow full recovery in most cases.
This study intends to describe assessment strategies for young students' online learning. The participants in this descriptive qualitative study were 15 primary school principals and 35 teachers teaching Years 4 and 5 in urban and rural schools on the island of Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara Province, who volunteered their participation after undergoing comparable procedures. Using operational concepts of assessment of learning for online learning, class observation, and interview were organized. The content and structure validity of the measures were evaluated in accordance with the developmental periods of young learners. The findings showed that the teachers assessed the primary students' cognitive, psychomotor, and affective domains interactively during the online class meetings, in their portfolio, and through attitude direct observation. Several assessment strategies were advocated to circumvent the shortcomings of online learning. A criterion-referenced evaluation was used to conduct the analysis. The theoretical implications of the findings suggest that the various assessment procedures adopted have decreased the negative washback of online exams; however, further research is required to determine the consistency of the outcomes of online tests with other types of evaluation.
Social bots are computer programs created for automating general human activities like the generation of messages. The rise of bots in social network platforms has led to malicious activities such as content pollution like spammers or malware dissemination of misinformation. Most of the researchers focused on detecting bot accounts in social media platforms to avoid the damages done to the opinions of users. In this work, n-gram based approach is proposed for a bot or human detection. The content-based features of character n-grams and word n-grams are used. The character and word n-grams are successfully proved in various authorship analysis tasks to improve accuracy. A huge number of n-grams is identified after applying different pre-processing techniques. The high dimensionality of features is reduced by using a feature selection technique of the Relevant Discrimination Criterion. The text is represented as vectors by using a reduced set of features. Different term weight measures are used in the experiment to compute the weight of n-grams features in the document vector representation. Two classification algorithms, Support Vector Machine, and Random Forest are used to train the model using document vectors. The proposed approach was applied to the dataset provided in PAN 2019 competition bot detection task. The Random Forest classifier obtained the best accuracy of 0.9456 for bot/human detection.
In this research study, the mechanical properties of several Polymer matrix composites are investigated. These composites are multi-phase materials in which reinforcing materials are properly mixed with a polymer matrix. More precisely, Nylon 6 reinforced with 5, 15 and 25 wt. % of silicon carbide (SiC) and Nylon 6 reinforced with 5, 15 and 25 wt. % of boron carbide (B4C), prepared by means of an injection moulding process at three different injection pressures are considered. Specific attention is paid to the tensile and impact strength of these composites. The Taguchi technique is used to optimize the process parameters such as reinforcement material, its percentage and the injection pressure. It is observed that the specimens 5% SiC with 80 MPa injection pressure display a better tensile strength and similarly the specimen 5% B4C with 90 MPa injection pressure have a superior impact strength.
Background Type 2 diabetes and obesity are serious public health concerns globally and a growing burden in Africa. Both conditions have serious repercussions on health when they co-occur, yet the extent of their co-occurrence in Africa remains unknown. Therefore, this review aimed to identify the prevalence and associated factors of overweight and obesity among persons with type 2 diabetes in Africa. Method A systematic search was conducted on PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, African Index Medicus (AIM), and African Journals Online (AJOL) for observational studies that reported the prevalence of overweight and/or obesity among type 2 diabetes patients in Africa. The prevalence data from individual studies were aggregated through a random-effects meta-analysis. The I2 statistic was used to evaluate between-studies heterogeneity, while subgroup analysis and mixed-effects meta-regression were performed to identify sources of heterogeneity. We assessed publication bias using funnel plots and Egger’s test. This review adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Results Of 1753 records retrieved, 80 articles were eligible for this review, with 74 cross-sectional studies included in the meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of overweight and obesity was 35.6% and 25.6% respectively, while the overall prevalence of both overweight and obesity was 61.4%. Also, the pooled prevalence of both overweight and obesity across the five geographical areas in Africa ranged from 56.9% in East Africa to 88.5% in Southern Africa. Nineteen factors were significantly associated with overweight and obesity among patients with type 2 diabetes. Conclusion The high prevalence of overweight and obesity among patients with type 2 diabetes is a significant public health concern that transcends geographical boundaries within Africa. The findings from this review highlight the need for innovative weight management interventions that are tailored to the cultural context of the African setting
The advancement of the information technology and web technology have brought changes to existing information storage and retrieval system such as Digital library, online database, digital repository, virtual library, etc. Libraries have witnessed tremendous changes in recent years in terms of their collection and services. Information explosion and user's demand of the users required the development of a more comprehensive library collection. Publishers have now started publishing on-line version/electronic versions of their printed journals. Owing to the cost of journals, many colleges and universities are unable to procure these journals. Ministry of HRD and UGC has started procuring the e-resources from the 25 world-class publishers under consortia mode at a much reduced price for all university libraries. BHU library is one of the beneficiaries of this UGC-INFONET Digital Library Consortium. The present study is the part of Ph.D. research work of one of the authors. To ascertain the usage of the e-resources available to the BHU library by the teachers and scholars, this survey was conducted. The present investigation discusses the use of electronic resources (e-journals, e-books, online/ offline databases, web resources) which are made available by the INFLIBNET Centre in eresource consortium like UGC-INFONET Digital Library Consortium by the teachers and scholars of BHU. The present study was conducted as a part of doctoral research work from January 2015 to July 2015.
Beetroot is vegetable containing phytochemical ingredients with potent antioxidant, hypoglycaemic and anti-inflammatory properties. It is key drivers in the pathophysiology of some metabolic syndromes. Its effect on the progress of induced metabolic syndrome has, however, hardly been investigated. Thus, this study aims to determine the effect of beetroot extract on various biophysical components of metabolic syndrome in rat. Following ethical approval, 50 Wister albino rats were used in this study and divided into three groups: Group A: rats were put on a high-fat-high-fructose (HFHF) diet; Group B: rats were put on an HFHF + fresh beetroot extract while group C: rats were the control group and were given a normal diet. The animals’ body weights and fasting blood sugar were taken fortnightly. Five rats from each group were then sacrificed at weeks 4, 8, 12 and 16 and the following parameters were measured: liver volume, fasting lipid profile, hepatic transaminases and blood platelet level. Compared to the HFHF group, beetroot supplementation resulted in a significant attenuation of overall weight gain (56.91% vs. 34.51%; p < 0> 0.05). Beetroot supplementation further ameliorated the thrombocytopenia caused by an HFHF. Beetroot juice supplementation attenuated the attendant effects of induced metabolic syndrome which might contribute towards averting the consequential cardiovascular sequel. Thus, lifestyle modification comprising beetroot intake as a dietary supplementation may alleviate metabolic syndrome and may offer a potential non-medical adjunct in the routine management of metabolic syndrome.
Mediterranean journal of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences
Coronaviruses are closely related virus causing several types of respiratory tract infections ranging from common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). There are many other ways in which Covid-19 will impact the existing public health issues. With the rising number of covid19 cases, it has been reported that people with the weaker immune system are at higher risk. We identified the mechanism of action of cyclophosphamide and its impact on the lung. Pulmonary side effects associated with cyclophosphamide are rare and dose-related. They manifest as early-onset pneumonitis, in patients with symptoms especially like cough and dyspnea. Acrolein in cyclophosphamide is the main component linked with the toxic effect. We hypothesize that use of cyclophosphamide, an antineoplastic agent and immunosuppressive agent used in treating many cancers and autoimmune disorders (like rheumatoid arthritis and ANCA vasculitis), induces severe lung toxicity which can be one of the contributing factors for the increased risk of COVID 19 complication. These factors are to be recognized to improve prevention and control of the disease.
Natural products, the most significant source for pharmaceutical development, have been investigated and utilized to alleviate diseases since early human history. The currently accepted modern medicine from different natural products has gradually developed over the years and is God's gift in the sense of traditional knowledge. Trustful humanity believes that drugs can cure every ill of natural origin. Natural medicines, prevalent in holy books, folklores, Materia medica and other historical literature, have become an essential domain of modern pharmaceutical sciences. Natural compounds from terrestrial and marine organisms have been extensively used to treat many diseases in their natural form or as a template for synthetic modification. Several of these natural products have shown biological and pharmacological activities and serve as the starting point in the development of modern medicines. Screening of crude plant extracts opens the door to the discovery of novel bioactive compounds, and elucidation of their structures leads towards new synthetic preparations, which can be administered in reproducible, accurate doses for particular therapeutic purposes. However, what is needed are rapid screening techniques, structure-based design, bioactivity-safety evaluation, extraction and isolation, and clinical trials for drug development under innovations, which will share the profit of products derived from natural origin. The government sector, industries, and academic institutions also play an essential role in developing biological drugs for human health enhancement. This book comprises four chapters. The first chapter is related to urolithiasis. In this chapter, the types of urinary stone formation in humans, their mechanism, current antiurolithiatic strategies and their complications are discussed precisely and comprehensively. Chapter two declares urinary stone treatment in early civilisation. The third chapter is about globally used antiurolithiatic plants. This chapter is a treasure trove of information covering the importance of plants in combating urolithiasis, their diverse pharmacology, and a comprehensive list of 888 antiurolithiatic plants from 144 families used in 55 countries. The tabular format provides a clear understanding of their historical background, mechanism of action, therapeutic spectrum, and formulations with doses. Hopefully, this book will not only be helpful for the general public but also attract the scientific world to antiurolithiatic drug discovery. This valuable ethnopharmacological information will provide opportunities for the future research and development of new natural antiurolithiatic compounds. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all the teachers, colleagues, and institutions whose unwavering support and encouragement made this book possible. We reserve a special thanks for the acquisition Editor of LAP Lambert Academic Publishing, Germany, whose inspiration and support were invaluable.