Seasonal variation of phenolics, flavonoids, antioxidant and lipid peroxidation inhibitory activity of methanolic extract of Melilotus indicus and its sub-fractions in different solvents

In the present work, seasonal variations of total phenolic and flavonoid contents, antioxidant activity and lipid peroxidation inhibitory activities of methanolic extract of Melilotus indicus and its sub-fractions in different solvents have been evaluated. The study was conducted on plant samples collected in February and April which are its flowering and fruiting seasons respectively. Both phenolic and flavonoid contents were higher in methanolic extract of the plant collected in April than in February. Free radical scavenging activity measured through DPPH method was low in methanolic extracts of both the samples, although it decreased as we go from February to April. Ethyl acetate fractions showed highest % inhibition. Total antioxidant activity of methanolic extracts measured through phosphomolybdate assay remained almost same. Chloroform fraction showed the highest value in both the seasons with value in April higher than in February, 57.24 and 46.44 µg of ascorbic acid equivalents per mg of the dried mass, respectively.  The methanolic extract of April sample showed higher FRAP (ferric reducing antioxidant power) value than that of February. In February, ethyl acetate fraction showed highest FRAP value, while in April, chloroform exhibited the highest value. Methanolic extracts and fractions in all solvents showed remarkable ability to inhibit peroxidation in linoleic acid. After 72 hours, all samples were much more effective than the standard BHA. Seasonal variations affect biosynthesis of different types of antioxidant and free radical scavenging compounds in Melilotus indicus. Thus, the medicinal and nutritional value of the plant will depend on harvesting season

Measurement of Total Plasma Homocysteine, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D3 Levels among Osteoporotic Women in Duhok City

الخلفية والاهداف: الدراسات الحديثة تشير الى انه المستويات العالية للحامض الاميني هوموسيستين له علاقة مباشرة بزيادة نسبة خطر الاصابة بتنخر العظام التي تؤدي الی الکسور لدى المسنين خاصة النساء (بعد سن اليأس). و تشير ايضا ان مستوى هذا الحمض الاميني مرتبط بشكل اساسي بمستويات كل من فيتامين بي 12, فيتامين دي 3 و حامض الفوليك. زيادة نسبة الهوموسيستين في بلازما الدم وكذلك انخفاض ملحوظ في مستويات كل من حامض الفوليك, فيتامين بي 12 و فيتامين دي 3 يشير الى زيادة احتمالية حدوث هشاشة وفقدان قوام العظام. لذلك, تهدف هذه الدراسة الى تحديد مستوى الهوموسيستين في الدم, ففي حالة زيادة نسبة الهوموسيستين عن الحد الطبيعي (أکثر من 15 ????mol/L) وانخفاض مستوى كل من حامض الفوليك, فيتامين بي 12 و فيتامين دي3 تتنبأ بسوء تشخيص حالة العظام و هشاشته وبالتالي الکسور. طريقة العمل: اجريت دراسة مقطعية على (90) امرأة تتراوح أعمارهن بين (45 – 85) سنة في عامي 2017 – 2018. تم استخدام جهاز (ديكسا) للحصول على المعلومات حول قيمة (تي – سكور) المسجلة من حاسبة الجهاز الموجود في مركز دهوك للامراض الروماتيزمية واعادة التأهيل الطبي.في هذه الدراسة تم استخدام برنامج (اس بي اس اس ) الاصدار رقم (23) لغرض الحصول على أنه هل هناك علاقة أحصائية بين اجمالي الهوموسيستين في بلازما الدم و معاملات الدراسة الاخرى. النتائج: يرتبط فرط الهوموسيستين في الدم بتشوهات الهيكل العظمي وهشاشة في العظام. في هذه الدراسة اختبرنا ما إذا كانت مستويات الهوموسيستين والإنزيمات الحرجة في عملية أيضه مثل فيتامين بي 12 و فيتامين دي 3 و حامض الفوليك التي لهم علاقة بكثافة المعادن في العظام التي تقاس بجهاز ديكسا للمرضى (بعد انقطاع الطمث) المشاركين في هذا البحث. تم الوصول الى النتائج على انه الهمومسيستين على علاقة ( p اقل من 0.001) وثيقة مع كل من العمر, قياس الخصر, حامض الفوليك, فيتامين بي 12, وفيتامين دي 3 و كذلك مع مجاميع (تي – سكور) و أيظا له علاقة مع كل من ( p اقل من 0.005) مع كل من كالسيوم الدم, مؤشر كتلة الجسم و اجمالي الدهون في الجسم. الاستنتاجات: يبدو أن الحمض الاميني الهوموسيستين هو مؤشّر على تطور مرض هشاشة العظام بين مجتمع الدراسة (النساء المسنات في مدينة دهوك). البيانات الحالية تشير إلى وجود علاقة كبيرة بين فيتامين بي 12, فيتامين دي 3 و حامض الفوليك وتمعدن العظام. توثق بياناتنا الفرضية القائلة بأن الحمض الاميني الهوموسيستين قد يلعب دورًا في التسبب في تطور حالة هشاشة العظام وكسورها.Background and objectives: Recent studies suggest that high homocysteine levels are associated with an increased risk of fractures. Homocysteine levels are known to be influenced by vitamin B12, vitamin D3 and folic acid status. Elevated plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) and deficiencies of folate and vitamin B12 are associated with risk of osteoporosis and bone loss. Therefore, this study aims to examine whether high plasma levels of homocysteine and low plasma levels of folate, vitamin B12 and vitamin D3 predicted a bad prognosis of bone health or not. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted on (90) women whose ages were between (45–85 years old) in 2017–2018. Recorded information on T – score values were obtained from computerized DEXA machine at the Duhok Rheumatic disease and Rehabilitation center. Independent t – test by (SPSS version 23) program was used to estimate relationship and risk assessment among study parameters comparing to levels of plasma total homocysteine (tHcy). Results: Hyperhomocysteinemia is associated with skeletal abnormalities and osteoporosis. We tested whether levels of homocysteine and critical co-enzymes of homocysteine metabolism, such as vitamin B12, D3 and folate which are related to bone mineral density (BMD) measured by DEXA. The current data demonstrates that homocysteine is highly significant (P value < 0.01) with each of age, waist circumferences (C. W.), vitamin B12, folic acid, vitamin D3 and T- score quartiles, also significant (P value < 0.05) with Body Mass Index (BMI), calcium (Ca+) and Total Body Fat percent (TBF %). Conclusions: Homocysteine seems to be a predictor for development of osteoporosis among study population (elderly menopaused women in Duhok city). The present data suggest a major association between folate, vitamin B12, vitamin D3 and bone mineralization. Our data documented the hypothesis that homocysteine may play a role in the pathogenesis of osteoporotic fractures

MEASURING ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION: DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF SCALE

The present study is an endeavor to develop and validateAccess to Higher Education Scale (AHES) by administering it in astratified sample of 51 predominantly third years’ bachelors programstudents enrolled in newly established distant campuses in rural areasof Sindh, Pakistan. Exploratory factor analysis was carried out toanalyze the data. This revealed good reliability and validity of scaleand identified a two factor model. The data were further used toundertake confirmatory factor analysis. Results confirmed thereliability and validity of the scale. This study also used three otherscales i.e. Teachers Support, Self-perceived Employability andPsychological Wellbeing for the validity of AHES. Shorter versions ofthese scales were confirmed through their adequate reliability andvalidity. Scholars in education and human resource management fieldcan further use these scales to measure students’ outcome of graduateemployability and psychological wellbeing

An analysis of compulsive buying behavior: Questioning the role of marketing campaigns

This study defines the concept of compulsive buying behavior on the basis of available research as a buying behavior that is continuous and repetitive and it is stimulated in result of some negative feelings or events. Then it highlights the significant predictors of compulsive buying behavior discussed in literature by different authors. Study also incorporates the role of marketing practices play in compulsive purchasing of a consumer. This study adopts a qualitative content analysis approach. Only journal articles are included in analysis. Study questions the role of marketing campaigns polices and strategies in promotion of compulsive buying behavior. This study underlay’s some reservations on the ethicality of the marketing campaigns. Future recommendations are also discussed in the end. Key Words: Compulsive Buying Behavior, Marketing Campaigns, Ethicality

Debutant iOS app and gene-disease complexities in clinical genomics and precision medicine.

BACKGROUND: The last decade has seen a dramatic increase in the availability of scientific data, where human-related biological databases have grown not only in count but also in volume, posing unprecedented challenges in data storage, processing, analysis, exchange, and curation. Next generation sequencing (NGS) advancements have facilitated and accelerated the process of identifying genetic variations. Adopting NGS with Whole-Genome and RNA sequencing in a diagnostic context has the potential to improve disease-risk detection in support of precision medicine and drug discovery. Several bioinformatics pipelines have been developed to strengthen variant interpretation by efficiently processing and analyzing sequence data, whereas many published results show how genomics data can be proactively incorporated into medical practices and improve utilization of clinical information. To utilize the wealth of genomics and health, there is a crucial need to generate appropriate gene-disease annotation repositories accessed through modern technology. RESULTS: Our focus here is to create a comprehensive database with mobile access to actionable genes and classified diseases, considered the foundation for clinical genomics and precision medicine. We present a publicly available iOS app, PAS-Gen, which invites global users to freely download it on iPhone and iPad devices, quickly adopt its easy to use interface, and search for genes and related diseases. PAS-Gen was developed using Swift, XCODE, and PHP scripting that uses Web and MySQL database servers, which includes over 59,000 protein-coding and non-coding genes, and over 90,000 classified gene-disease associations. PAS-Gen is founded on the clinical and scientific premise that easier healthcare and genomics data sharing will accelerate future medical discoveries. CONCLUSIONS: We present a cutting-edge gene-disease database with a smart phone application, integrating information on classified diseases and related genes. The PAS-Gen app will assist researchers, medical practitioners, and pharmacists by providing a broad and view of genes that may be implicated in the likelihood of developing certain diseases. This tool with accelerate users\u27 abilities to understand the genetic basis of human complex diseases and by assimilating genomic and phenotypic data will support future work to identify gene-specific designer drugs, target precise molecular fingerprints for tumors, suggest appropriate drug therapies, predict individual susceptibility to disease, and diagnose and treat rare illnesses

Near Infrared -Visible Photonic Bandgap in One-Dimensional Periodic Photonic Crystal Structure Composed of Tio2/Te Layers

In this present paper, we consider some features of the states of one-dimensional photonic crystals. Form the numerical results performed by transfer matrix method in periodic multilayer structure made of titanium dioxide and tellurium material, it is found that the structure possesses a photonic band gap it was determined that the structure has a photonic band gap in the borderline visible and infrared spectral region. Our predictions were in good agreement with the photonic bandgap tuning. Our simple model can also predict and explain the effect of incidence angle and wavelength and number of layers on the photonic bandgap. We expect such structures to play an important role in micromechanical tunable optical sensors and filters

Design and Simulation of Microstrip Antenna Array Operating at S-band for Wireless Communication System

In this article, different design configurations of rectangular microstrip patch antenna (RMSA) array operating at S-band frequency are presented. The substrate material utilized in the designs is Rogers-RT-5800 with dielectric permittivity (Ԑr= 2.2), thickness of (h=1.6 mm), and loss tangent of (δ = 0.009). The performances of a single element, (1×2), (2×2) and (1×4) array elements operating at (3.6 GHz) are investigated using the CST and HFSS numerical techniques. The simulation results indicates that the antenna gain of (8.68, 10.35, 10.43 and 10.52) dB, VSWR (1.045, 1.325, 1.095 and 1.945), return loss (-34.91, -17.15, -27.42 and -12.26) dB, and bandwidth (85.00, 200.00, 215 and 106.4) MHz are achieved with the implementation of HFSS for advanced single element, (1×2), (2×2) and (1×4) array elements, respectively. Besides, the corresponding antenna parameter values provided by CST are, gain (7.36, 9.8, 9.87 and 10.30) dB, VSWR (1.011, 1.304, 1.305 and 1.579), return loss (-44.97, -17.58, -17.55 and -14.01) dB, and bandwidth (92.28, 204, 229.49 and 129.12) MHz, respectively. The results also reveals that the higher gain and wider bandwidth are, respectively, achieved with (1×4) and (2×2) array configuration arrangement and with both simulation techniques. Additionally, a good agreement and an advancement between the obtained results with the ones previously studied for the same array types operating at S-band frequencies are also observed