MORIN PREVENTS ULTRAVIOLET-B RADIATION-INDUCED PHOTOCARCINOGENESIS THROUGH ACTIVATING THROMBOSPONDIN-1 IN THE MOUSE SKIN

 Objective: In this study, we investigated whether morin, a natural flavonoid, could able to inhibit ultraviolet B (UVB)-induced carcinogenesis in the skin of Swiss albino mice.Methods: The mice were exposed to UVB radiation (180 mJ/cm2) on weekly thrice for 30 weeks, and morin was administered intraperitoneal and topical application 1 h before UVB exposure. UVB radiation induces the overexpression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), and Bcl-2 genes.Results: Morin significantly prevented UVB-induced activation of COX-2, iNOS, VEGF, TGF-β, and Bcl-2 expression in mouse skin. Thrombospondin-1 (TSP), a novel endogenous factor, inhibits angiogenesis and inflammation.Conclusion: The present study illustrates that the protective effect of morin against UVB-induced carcinogenesis may be modulated through activation of TSP-1 in UVB-exposed Swiss albino mice

Effect of sol vent volume on size of silica nanoparticle which is synthesized using modified sol-gel process

Nanotechnologies are now poised to revolutionize the electronic, chemical and biotechnology industries and biomedical fields. Silica nanoparticles have been prepared in this work using modified Sol- gel method at room temperature that employs a water-soluble amine as catalyst, Tween 80 water as a micelle producer and tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) as the silica source. The pH value of the aqueous phase was controlled between 10.3 and 10.5. Silica nanoparticle that has been synthesized using modified Sol- gel process is water soluble in nature. The size of nanosilica particle changed when we change the volume of the solvent, which 1-butanol in this research. The changes of the nanoparticle were gradual according to the solvent volume. But after certain amount of solvent volume, the increment is stopped and the size decreased gradually. This obviously showed that the influence of solvent in formation of Nanoparticle is limited to certain level only. This creates a new way which the manipulation of the size can be done with the help of solvent too. The influence is not as strong as water/ alkoxide ratio and pH of the solution. Further research need to be conducted to study precise\ud influence of the solvent to the size of silica nanoparticle by modified sol-gel process

Assessment of risk factors for thrombosis in ICU patients with COVID-19

Introduction: High incidence of thrombotic events has been reported in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Less than 50% of pulmonary embolisms (PE) are associated with signs of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) of the lower extremities. Objective: To assess the risk factors of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in intensive care patients with COVID-19 by comparing the clinical features of patients in groups with thrombosis, venous stasis and without deep vein thrombosis. Material and methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted that included all consecutive adult patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 admitted to the intensive care unit. We investigated chronic comorbid conditions in patients, including arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, obesity, chronic kidney failure (CRF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic heart failure (CHF), and cancer which may be a risk factor for thrombosis. Results: A total of 465 patients were included in the study. Comorbidities were present in 435 of 465 patients (93.55%). Doppler ultrasound (DUS) confirmed deep vein thrombosis in 60 patients (13.8%), which was associated with older age (71.12±13.98 vs. (79.57%), chronic heart failure - 196 (42.15%), obesity - 161 (34.62%), diabetes mellitus - 144 (30.97%), chronic renal failure (CRF) -58 (12.47%) and oncological diseases - 25 (5.38%). Hypertension (p=0.02), diabetes mellitus (p=0.041) and obesity (p=0.01) were significant risk factors for DVT. D-dimer was a statistically significant predictor of DVT formation (p<0.001), an increase in D-dimer per unit increased the risk of DVT by 14%. Conclusion: The study identified risk factors for deep vein thrombosis in intensive care patients with COVID-19. These include: age, high levels of D-dimer, and comorbidities such as hypertension, obesity, and diabetes mellitus

IMPACT OF PHARMACIST INTERVENTION IN SCREENING AND EDUCATION ON BLOOD PRESSURE IN A RURAL AREA IN SOUTHERN INDIA

ABSTRACTObjective: Hypertension (HTN) expends a consequential public health concern on cardiovascular health status and health-care systems in India. Theeffectuation of the pharmaceutical care program in the health care is an extremely important need to achieve the optimum therapeutic effect. Theobjective of the study was to assess the impact of pharmacist intervention on patient's blood pressure (BP) level, quality of life (QOL), and knowledge,attitude, and practice (KAP) of hypertensive patients.Methods: A randomized controlled pilot study was carried out for 6 months. The hypertensive patients were randomized into control and interventiongroup based on age, and both the groups were interviewed using KAP and WHO QOL-BREF questionnaires, screened BP, respectively, at baseline andeach follow-up after post counseling section to the intervention group. The effect of pharmacist intervention on QOL and KAP among control andintervention was statistically analyzed by paired t-test using SPSS version 16.Results: The total sample studied was 60, of which 20 (33.33%) were males and 40 (66.67%) were females. In our study, the QOL score for eachdomain of both intervention and control groups were almost poor (p˃0.05) at baseline and for the intervention group, a highly significant improvement(p<0.001) was observed for all domains in final follow-up. KAP score of intervention group also showed a significant improvement (p<0.001) frombaseline to final follow-up. In this study, intervention group showed a significant mean reduction of systolic BP from baseline 150.13±25.670 to finalfollow-up 145.33±12.914.Conclusion: The results of the study showed a significant improvement in the patient's KAP toward different aspects of HTN and QOL followingpharmacist mediated counseling. Involvement of pharmacy practitioners in the management of HTN significantly improves QOL and KAPs.Keywords: Hypertension, Quality of life, Knowledge, Attitude and practice, Pharmacist intervention, Patient counseling

Psychology hardiness and psychology well-being of banking sector employees and moderating role of coping strategy

Employees are one of the most important assets for country where its organization's structure determines the way these employees are interrelated and their teamwork in achieving the mission and the goal of the company which leads the employees to deal with stress in their personal life most likely in workplace. Stress can be accumulative over a period of time resulting in a "burnout experience" and it leads to physical and psychological ill-health adversely affecting work and social functioning.The objective of this study is to explore and investigate the coping strategy as a moderating effect in predicting psychology hardiness and psychology well-being among employees from Malaysian banking sector. This study also intended to determine correlation and the statistic significant differences in the respondents’ psychology hardiness by demographic factors such as gender. The survey was executed at 11 Banks and 141 respondents were participated in Kuala Lumpur which includes both Malaysian and the international banks as well. Psychology hardiness was measured using the dispositional Resilience [DRS-15 (v3.2)] scale, Coping strategy was measured using the Problem Oriented Brief Coping Experienced (BRIEF COPE) scale while Psychology well-being was measured using Well-being Manifestation Measure scale (WBMMS) scale. In the study,all three variables are score variable therefore the hypotheses were tested by using hierarchical multiple regression, Correlation and T-Test in SPSS version 20. The results of the study revealed that coping strategy enhances the effect of psychology hardiness on wellbeing. And, as a moderator coping strategy would increase the effect of psychological hardiness on employees' well-being in the banking sector

Impact of COVID-19 on Patients’ Attitudes and Perceptions of Dental Health Services: A Questionnaire Based Study in an Australian University Dental Clinic

COVID-19, the global pandemic, has significantly interrupted the provision of oral health care to many individuals. This study aims to evaluate patients’ attitudes to and perceptions of dental visits in the COVID-19 pandemic and assess if socio-economic status influences their perception of risk associated with dental visits. Patients attending the dental clinic were invited to participate in this study by completing a questionnaire administered in August 2021. Composite indicators for access, attitude, perception and socio-economic status were created based on subsets of questions. A total of 247 completed questionnaires were obtained. Analysis was performed with the perception, attitude and access indicators against the socio-economic status indicator. This study found that there is a statistically significant difference between socio-economic groups and their attitudes and perceptions around dental health care services in the current COVID-19 pandemic. Individuals from lower socio-economic status groups were less influenced by the pandemic. Participants from higher socio-economic status groups were found to be more cautious around COVID-19 and its risks

Evaluation of third order nonlinear optical properties of SiO2/PVA-PEG Nanocomposites by Z-Scan Method

23-27SiO2 nanoparticles was synthesized by sol-gel method and polymer nanocomposites by solvo-casting method. XRD and SEM analysis have revealed the size, morphological structure and formation of SiO2/PVA-PEG polymer nanocomposites. The presence of hydrogen bond between SiO2 and PVA-PEG was proved with the help of Fourier Transform Infra Red Spectroscopy (FTIR). Further UV-Vis studies were used to find the optical band gap and linear refractive index. Third order nonlinear optical properties such as two photon absorption, nonlinear refractive index and third order nonlinear susceptibility was evaluated for the title compound using Z-scan method. The estimated nonlinear optical properties of title compound proved the appropriateness of the sample for optical applications

Sea grass like arranged TiO2 nanorods sensitized by natural dyes for solar cell applications

Rutile phase sea grass like arranged TiO2 nanorods have been synthesized by low temperature template free hydrothermal method. These TiO2 nanorods have been sensitized by flowers of Sesbania grandiflora, leaves of Camellia sinensis and roots of Rubia tinctorum. The sensitized TiO2 nanorods based films have been used as photoanode in natural dye sensitized solar cells. The films were photoelectrochemically active and the fabricated solar cells had short circuit photocurrent densitiy(JSC) lying in the range of 3.7mAcm-2 to 4.7mAcm-2. The efficiency of the fabricated natural dye sensitized solar cells were found to lie in the range of 0.6% to 1.036% respectively