Attenuated Antioxidant property of UV-B Irradiated Piperine in Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in SD rat

PIP is well known antioxidant that showed neuroprotection against cerebral ischemia (2h) /reperfusion (24h) (I/R) injury. However, it can degrade very easily in presence of UV-R/sunlight. Here, comparative study of non-irradiated and UV-B (0.6mW/cm2) irradiated PIP was performed against cerebral I/R injury. First, the dose dependence evaluation of neuroscore was investigated after the non-irradiated PIP intravenously (2.5, 5, 10 mg/kg b w, i.v.) treatment. The neuroprotective outcome of UV-B irradiated and non-irradiated PIP (5 mg/kg b w, i.v.) against cerebral I/R in SD rats was investigated through evaluation of neuroscore and quantification of infarct volume by TTC staining. The result of photodegradation of PIP under UV-B irradiation revealed the formation of photoproducts. There were no changes in Cortical and mitochondrial ROS level and antioxidant defence enzyme (CuZn-SOD, Mn-SOD, and catalase) and non-enzyme (LPO, protein carbonyl and reduced glutathione) activities in UV-B irradiated compare vehicle group. Thus, our results demonstrated that PIP could lose its parent structure in presence of UV-B and attenuates its neuroprotective efficacy. Thus, UV-B exposure must be avoided during dietary intake of PIP to obtain best neuroprotective response

Morbidity Pattern and Health Seeking Behavior of Elderly People in Surnaya Rural Municipality, Baitadi, Nepal

Background: The number of older persons in the world has increased substantially in recent years and the growth is projected to accelerate in the coming decades. With an increase in the proportion of aged population, the elderly with ailments is also on the rise. The aged population has special health problems that are different from those of adults or young. This study aims to assess the morbidity patterns and health seeking behavior of elderly people. Methods: A community-based, cross-sectional study was conducted among 197 elderly people in Surnaya Rural Municipality, Baitadi. Data was collected through face-to-face interview using a pre-tested structured questionnaire. Ethical approval was received, and ethical issues were addressed. Data were processed using IBS SPSS v.25.0. Descriptive statistics and chi-square test was used. Results: The prevalence of morbidity was 71.6%. Respiratory condition was most reported, followed by digestive, musculoskeletal, and cardiovascular diseases. Further, 17.0% sustained injury. Healthcare seeking by 77.3% and 76.1% had treatment compliance. The morbidity condition was significantly associated with economic status (p=0.041), spiritual activity (p=0.032), and difficulty falling asleep (p=0.003). Distance to reach the nearest health facility (p=0.022) and presence of chronic health problems (p<0.001) was significantly associated with healthcare seeking behavior of the elderly. Conclusion: The high prevalence of multiple morbidities was reported among the elderly and respiratory condition was leading. Still, large numbers of elderly do not seek healthcare and have low treatment compliance. Elderly-friendly health services, an extension of health insurance, and elderly health screening services are recommended to enhance health seeking behavior of the elderly

Current Trends in HPLC for Quality Control of Spices

India, the land of spices and condiments, is endowed with a plethora of herbs, spices, and unusual plants. Spices have been used as flavoring and coloring agents in Indian society since time immemorial. Spices have also been shown to have antioxidant, antibacterial, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory properties. Assessing spices’ taste, nutritional, and bioactive qualities during postharvest processing is critical for quality control and preventing adulteration. Various illegal colors are frequently used to adulterate spices for fraudulent trading operations. For instance, Sudan dyes are widely substituted with hot chili, red pepper, or tomato products; metanil yellow in turmeric; tartrazine, amaranth, and sunset yellow FCF in ginger and chili powder; and magenta III and rhodamine B in saffron. These adulterants degrade the flavoring, fragrance, cosmetics, medicinal, and preservative value of spices, their authentication is critical in quality control. Apart from these adulterants, various aflatoxins secreted after fungal contamination also cause quality degradation of spices. According to the literature evaluation, HPLC is a rapid and adaptable technique for efficiently identifying these compounds in spices. The proposed chapter summarizes application of HPLC for detection, quantification, and quality assessment of various spices. Some of the recently published work on the said topic from various search engines (Google scholar, Scopus, science direct, etc.) is mentioned in the chapter

An international prospective study of INICC analyzing the incidence and risk factors for catheter-associated urinary tract infections in 235 ICUs across 8 Asian Countries

Background: Identify urinary catheter (UC)-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) incidence and risk factors (RF) in 235 ICUs in 8 Asian countries: India, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Methods: From January 1, 2014, to February 12, 2022, we conducted a prospective cohort study. To estimate CAUTI incidence, the number of UC days was the denominator, and CAUTI was the numerator. To estimate CAUTI RFs, we analyzed 11 variables using multiple logistic regression. Results: 84,920 patients hospitalized for 499,272 patient days acquired 869 CAUTIs. The pooled CAUTI rate per 1,000 UC-days was 3.08; for those using suprapubic-catheters (4.11); indwelling-catheters (2.65); trauma-ICU (10.55), neurologic-ICU (7.17), neurosurgical-ICU (5.28); in lower- middle-income countries (3.05); in upper-middle-income countries (1.71); at public-hospitals (5.98), at private-hospitals (3.09), at teaching-hospitals (2.04). The following variables were identified as CAUTI RFs: Age (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.01; 95% CI = 1.01-1.02; P < .0001); female sex (aOR = 1.39; 95% CI = 1.21-1.59; P < .0001); using suprapubic-catheter (aOR = 4.72; 95% CI = 1.69-13.21; P < .0001); length of stay before CAUTI acquisition (aOR = 1.04; 95% CI = 1.04-1.05; P < .0001); UC and device utilization-ratio (aOR = 1.07; 95% CI = 1.01-1.13; P = .02); hospitalized at trauma-ICU (aOR = 14.12; 95% CI = 4.68-42.67; P < .0001), neurologic-ICU (aOR = 14.13; 95% CI = 6.63-30.11; P < .0001), neurosurgical-ICU (aOR = 13.79; 95% CI = 6.88-27.64; P < .0001); public-facilities (aOR = 3.23; 95% CI = 2.34-4.46; P < .0001). Discussion: CAUTI rate and risk are higher for older patients, women, hospitalized at trauma-ICU, neurologic-ICU, neurosurgical-ICU, and public facilities. All of them are unlikely to change. Conclusions: It is suggested to focus on reducing the length of stay and the Urinary catheter device utilization ratio, avoiding suprapubic catheters, and implementing evidence-based CAUTI prevention recommendations

Estrogen-induced spermatogenic cell apoptosis occurs via the mitochondrial pathway : role of superoxide and nitric oxide

The detrimental effects of estrogen on testicular function provide a conceptual basis to examine the speculative link between increased exposure to estrogens and spermatogenic cell death. Using an in vitro model, we provide an understanding of the events leading to estrogen-induced apoptosis in cells of spermatogenic lineage. Early events associated with estrogen exposure were up-regulation of FasL and increased generation of H2O2, superoxide, and nitric oxide. The ability of anti-FasL antibodies to prevent several downstream biochemical changes and cell death induced by 17β-estradiol substantiates the involvement of the cell death receptor pathway. Evidence for the amplification of the death-inducing signals through mitochondria was obtained from the transient mitochondrial hyperpolarization observed after estradiol exposure resulting in cytochrome c release. A combination of nitric oxide and superoxide but not H2O2 was responsible for the mitochondrial hyperpolarization. Mn(III) tetrakis(4-benzoic acid)porphyrin chloride, an intracellular peroxynitrite scavenger, was able to reduce mitochondrial hyperpolarization and cell death. Although nitric oxide augmentation occurred through an increase in the expression of inducible nitric-oxide synthase, superoxide up-regulation was a product of estradiol metabolism. All of the above changes were mediated through an estrogen receptor-based mechanism because tamoxifen, the estrogen receptor modulator, was able to rescue the cells from estrogen-induced alterations. This study establishes the importance of the independent capability of cells of the spermatogenic lineage to respond to estrogens and most importantly suggests that low dose estrogens can potentially cause severe spermatogenic cellular dysfunction leading to impaired fertility even without interference of the hypothalamo-hypophyseal axis

Trailing TRAIL Resistance: Novel Targets for TRAIL sensitization in Cancer cells

Resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs is the major hindrance in the successful cancer therapy. The tumor necrosis factor- related apoptosis- inducing ligand (TRAIL) is a member of the Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) family of ligands which initiates apoptosis in cancer cells through interaction with the death receptors DR4 and DR5. TRAIL is perceived as an attractive chemotherapeutic agent as it specifically targets cancer cells while sparing the normal cells. However TRAIL therapy has a major limitation as a large number of the cancer develop resistance towards TRAIL and escape from the destruction by the immune system. Therefore, elucidation of the molecular targets and signaling pathways responsible for TRAIL resistance is imperative for devising effective therapeutic strategies for TRAIL resistant cancers. Although, various molecular targets leading to TRAIL resistance are well studied, recent studies have implicated that the contribution of some key cellular processes towards TRAIL resistance need to be fully elucidated. These processes primarily include aberrant protein synthesis, protein misfolding, ubiquitin regulated death receptor expression, metabolic pathways, epigenetic deregulation and metastasis. Novel synthetic/natural compounds that could inhibit these defective cellular processes may restore the TRAIL sensitivity and combination therapies with such compounds may resensitize TRAIL resistant cancer cells towards TRAIL-induced apoptosis. In this review, we have summarized the key cellular processes associated with TRAIL resistance and their status as therapeutic targets for novel TRAIL-sensitizing agents