Efficacy of phyto-therapeutics in allergic rhinitis: A review

Allergic rhinitis (AR) or hay fever is the most common symptomatic allergic disorder triggered by allergen and if it remains undiagnosed, can adversely impact the general well-being. The ailment is characterized by an exaggerated immune response to environmental triggers including pollen, moulds, ragweed, dirt mites, dust, etc. within the nasal mucosa, ultimately leading to gene environment interaction which elevate the IgE level in the nasal mucosa, and ultimately infection of the nasal cavity. The major signs and symptoms of AR include rhinorrhea, sneezing, eye itching, postnasal drip, cough, nasal obstruction, and fatigue due to nasal discomfort. Various studies reported 20-30% occurrence of the disease and majority of them are inclined towards allopathic medication for instant relief. Since these drugs lead to unenviable side effects in the long term, it is of utmost importance to search for alternative mode of medication with lower side-effects. The use of traditional medication in the form of various herbal plants and their mixture have proved to be effective in the management of symptoms for asthma and AR. Their efficiencies have been restrained successfully in various reports. It has been proven that herbal medicines are safe to use and thus have rendered a vast contribution to the treatment of allergic rhinitis. Hence, the present review is aimed to discuss the efficacy and protection provided by diverse herbal drugs in the management of AR

Ferrochelatase is a therapeutic target for ocular neovascularization

Ocular neovascularization underlies major blinding eye diseases such as “wet” age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Despite the successes of treatments targeting the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) pathway, resistant and refractory patient populations necessitate discovery of new therapeutic targets. Using a forward chemical genetic approach, we identified the heme synthesis enzyme ferrochelatase (FECH) as necessary for angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo. FECH is overexpressed in wet AMD eyes and murine choroidal neovascularization; siRNA knockdown of Fech or partial loss of enzymatic function in the Fechm1Pas mouse model reduces choroidal neovascularization. FECH depletion modulates endothelial nitric oxide synthase function and VEGF receptor 2 levels. FECH is inhibited by the oral antifungal drug griseofulvin, and this compound ameliorates choroidal neovascularization in mice when delivered intravitreally or orally. Thus, FECH inhibition could be used therapeutically to block ocular neovascularization

Novel Role of Phosphorylation-Dependent Interaction between FtsZ and FipA in Mycobacterial Cell Division

The bacterial divisome is a multiprotein complex. Specific protein-protein interactions specify whether cell division occurs optimally, or whether division is arrested. Little is known about these protein-protein interactions and their regulation in mycobacteria. We have investigated the interrelationship between the products of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis gene cluster Rv0014c-Rv0019c, namely PknA (encoded by Rv0014c) and FtsZ-interacting protein A, FipA (encoded by Rv0019c) and the products of the division cell wall (dcw) cluster, namely FtsZ and FtsQ. M. smegmatis strains depleted in components of the two gene clusters have been complemented with orthologs of the respective genes of M. tuberculosis. Here we identify FipA as an interacting partner of FtsZ and FtsQ and establish that PknA-dependent phosphorylation of FipA on T77 and FtsZ on T343 is required for cell division under oxidative stress. A fipA knockout strain of M. smegmatis is less capable of withstanding oxidative stress than the wild type and showed elongation of cells due to a defect in septum formation. Localization of FtsQ, FtsZ and FipA at mid-cell was also compromised. Growth and survival defects under oxidative stress could be functionally complemented by fipA of M. tuberculosis but not its T77A mutant. Merodiploid strains of M. smegmatis expressing the FtsZ(T343A) showed inhibition of FtsZ-FipA interaction and Z ring formation under oxidative stress. Knockdown of FipA led to elongation of M. tuberculosis cells grown in macrophages and reduced intramacrophage growth. These data reveal a novel role of phosphorylation-dependent protein-protein interactions involving FipA, in the sustenance of mycobacterial cell division under oxidative stress

AI is a viable alternative to high throughput screening: a 318-target study

: High throughput screening (HTS) is routinely used to identify bioactive small molecules. This requires physical compounds, which limits coverage of accessible chemical space. Computational approaches combined with vast on-demand chemical libraries can access far greater chemical space, provided that the predictive accuracy is sufficient to identify useful molecules. Through the largest and most diverse virtual HTS campaign reported to date, comprising 318 individual projects, we demonstrate that our AtomNet® convolutional neural network successfully finds novel hits across every major therapeutic area and protein class. We address historical limitations of computational screening by demonstrating success for target proteins without known binders, high-quality X-ray crystal structures, or manual cherry-picking of compounds. We show that the molecules selected by the AtomNet® model are novel drug-like scaffolds rather than minor modifications to known bioactive compounds. Our empirical results suggest that computational methods can substantially replace HTS as the first step of small-molecule drug discovery

Efficacy of phyto-therapeutics in allergic rhinitis: A review

451-459Allergic rhinitis (AR) or hay fever is the most common symptomatic allergic disorder triggered by allergen and if it remains undiagnosed, can adversely impact the general well-being. The ailment is characterized by an exaggerated immune response to environmental triggers including pollen, moulds, ragweed, dirt mites, dust, etc. within the nasal mucosa, ultimately leading to gene environment interaction which elevate the IgE level in the nasal mucosa, and ultimately infection of the nasal cavity. The major signs and symptoms of AR include rhinorrhea, sneezing, eye itching, postnasal drip, cough, nasal obstruction, and fatigue due to nasal discomfort. Various studies reported 20-30% occurrence of the disease and majority of them are inclined towards allopathic medication for instant relief. Since these drugs lead to unenviable side effects in the long term, it is of utmost importance to search for alternative mode of medication with lower side-effects. The use of traditional medication in the form of various herbal plants and their mixture have proved to be effective in the management of symptoms for asthma and AR. Their efficiencies have been restrained successfully in various reports. It has been proven that herbal medicines are safe to use and thus have rendered a vast contribution to the treatment of allergic rhinitis. Hence, the present review is aimed to discuss the efficacy and protection provided by diverse herbal drugs in the management of AR

The continuum of art and rheumatology:a discernment of mutual inclusivity

Art has been an integral part of the field of medicine, and has served, since the beginning of the time, in its development. This literature review explores the deep relationship between art and medicine through history, and how they are inextricably linked. Even during this current era and evolution, art has found its way in the different aspects of medicine from academic literature, digital health, and medical curriculum. Moreover, the increasing prevalence of mental health disorders, especially in those with chronic diseases, has resulted in art being used as a tool to alleviate symptoms and offer emotional relief. With the emergence of a new era of medicine, art is expected to play a major role in its foundation

Comparative evaluation of the efficacy of two modes of delivery of diclofenac for the management of post-endodontic pain: A randomized controlled clinical trial

Background: This study aimed to compare the efficacy of two modes of delivery of diclofenac for the management of post-endodontic pain. Materials and Methods: This study comprised 30 patients reporting to the department with pain in their teeth. Pain was assessed using the visual analog scale (VAS): group A (control group), group B (oral diclofenac), and group C (transdermal patch). A VAS was given to the patients in each group, and the severity of any pain was self-assessed by patients after 4 hrs, 8 hrs, 12 hrs, 24 hrs, and 48 hrs following the completion of treatment. Results: A comparison between group oral and diclofenac transdermal patch was carried out. The pain frequency was measured at 4 hrs, 8 hrs, 12 hrs, 24 hrs, and 48 hrs postoperatively with P values of 0.744, 0.035, 0.570, 0.060, and 0.508 and was statistically insignificant. Conclusion: Preoperative analgesics play an important role in reducing post-endodontic pain. Transdermal patches containing diclofenac show a promising analgesic modality in managing endodontic pain

To evaluate the correlation between the ABO blood group, lip, and fingerprint pattern

This research set out to see whether there was a connection between the ABO blood type and the unique patterns found on people's lips and fingerprints.As many as a hundred people were surveyed for this study. Red lip gloss, cellophane tape, white A3 paper, a stamp pad with blue ink, and a magnifying glass were also used.O+ blood type, a full vertical lip print, and a loopy fingerprint pattern were the most common types of individuals.Lip patterns, fingerprints, and blood types are just a few of the personally identifiable characteristics that have been shown to be useful in forensic identification. We found no evidence of a link between these three variables in our analysis

Bibliometric Review of Blended Finance and Partial Risk Guarantee: Establishing Needs and Advantages

A partial risk guarantee (PRG) is one of the critical instruments in the blended finance approach that provides partial assurance to the risk investor to lend leveraged capital to the borrower. Under the PRG scheme, philanthropic capital is employed as a risk guarantee to create financial and economic additionality through the multiplier effect. This study examines the current trends in PRG and blended finance ecosystem research. This study also aims to identify future research areas to work upon. The bibliometric analysis highlights the need and advantages of blended finance and PRG. The study highlights themes, such as climate finance, SDGs, impact investments, and blended finance/PRGs, from the literature on blended finance. This study illustrates the impact for researchers and managers regarding the future direction to undertake and the domains where PRG can work wonders. The research allows for a comprehensive view of the leading trends, such as utilising blended finance tools such as PRG in funding the work in climate financing, SDGs, water, sanitation, and impact investment. This is perhaps the first study to conduct a bibliometric analysis of the developing area of blended finance partial risk guarantee literature to highlight its importance and advantages