An Efficient Synthesis of Tri- and Tetrasubstituted Imidazoles from Benzils Using Functionalized Chitosan as Biodegradable Solid Acid Catalyst

An environmentally benign, highly efficient one-pot four-component synthesis of highly functionalized imidazole derivatives using different aldehydes, substituted amines, benzil, and ammonium acetate in the presence of biodegradable and highly efficient catalyst chitosan–SO₃H were described. Chitosan–SO₃H was found to be a heterogeneous acidic catalyst which allowed easy recovery of the catalyst. Use of microwave irradiation along with chitosan–SO₃H for the synthesis of imidazole derivatives makes this protocol green. Moreover, excellent yields, shorter reaction time, chromatography-free purification, and elimination of environmentally hazardous solvents are other advantages of this protocol which leads to sustainability

Why uncertainty in community livelihood adaptation is important for adaptive delta management: A case study in polders of Southwest Bangladesh

To deal with large uncertainties about future climate and socio-economic developments, planners in deltas are adopting an integrative and adaptive planning approach referred to as Adaptive Delta Management (ADM). Bangladesh has used the ADM approach for the development of its adaptive plan; Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 (BDP 2100). The success of policy strategies in an adaptive delta plan critically depends on a specific adaptation of livelihoods of local communities (Community Livelihood Adaptation; CLA), especially in an agriculture-oriented society like Bangladesh. For example, while triple rice cropping might be evaluated as a robust strategy in all futures considered, its success eventually depends on whether farmers’ will actually make that choice, which is deeply uncertain. In this paper, we use literature review, insights from interviews and field observations to examine how the uncertainty in CLA impacts (adaptive) delta management. We study two historical cases of livelihood adaptation of farmer communities confronted with salinization and waterlogging in the polders of southwest Bangladesh since the 1960s. We conclude that historically the uncertainty about CLA in polders has been ignored in the development of policy plans, leading to the failure of anticipated policy outcomes. We recommend planners in Bangladesh and other deltas worldwide to take account of CLA as uncertainty when developing long-term adaptive plans.</p

A conceptual model-based approach to explore community livelihood adaptation under uncertainty for adaptive delta management

Delta communities worldwide are facing a multitude of challenges in their life and livelihood. In many developing countries, improving the quality of life and livelihood is a key challenge. While development is a central goal of delta planning in such countries, the effectiveness of planning is challenged by uncertain changes in climate and socio-economy. Bangladesh (one of the countries) is moving towards the adaptive delta management approach to deal with such uncertainties. Historical examples illustrate that Community Livelihood Adaptation (CLA) can critically influence the effectiveness of a policy strategy. Therefore, there is a clear need to explore CLA under uncertainty. For that purpose, this paper develops and applies a conceptual model-based approach combining the mental model and scenarios techniques. Our approach starts by using a participatory process to elicit mental models a farmers’ community uses when considering adaptation decisions; we capture these in the form of a cognitive map, and this map can serve as a conceptual model for analyzing livelihood adaptation decision-making in a future-oriented scenario analysis. To illustrate the approach, a case study of cropping decision-making of farmers community at a polder location under the saline condition in the southwest of Bangladesh has been elaborated. Results show that the approach is useful in structuring the cognitive and qualitative nature of complex decision-making process, and helps in understanding the dynamic interactions of farmers’ adaptation decisions with other actors, their environmental attributes, and market traits. It can help policymakers anticipate the adaptation direction of policy strategies.Policy Analysi

A convenient approach to synthesize substituted 5-Arylidene-3-m-tolyl thiazolidine-2, 4-diones by using morpholine as a catalyst and its theoretical study.

Thiazolidinediones are very important and used as a drug for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Here, we report a convenient approach to synthesis 3-m-tolyl-5-arylidene-2,4-thiazolidinediones (TZDs) derivatives 7a-e in two steps with moderate to good yield using morpholine as a catalyst. All the structures were confirmed by their spectral IR, 1H NMR and 13C NMR data. The anti-diabatic activity of all synthesized molecules is evaluated by docking with peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ). Preliminary flexible docking studies reveals that our compounds 7a, 7d and 7e showed better binding affinity with the protein and could be a potential candidate for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in near future

Dyslexia: Impact of mobile phones educational programs on academic achievement of elementary school dyslectic students of India and Sudan

Although mobile phones have emerged in large numbers in the past few decades, little is known about their impact. Especially the impact on the attitude and academic performance of DYSLECTIC students. Although people are becoming more and more interested in mobile devices and their relevance and consequences on children, the impact of related studies varies, and the overall effect remains unclear. The purpose of this study is to further investigate any differences that may exist: based on gender and school type; on the impact of mobile phone educational programmes on academic achievement of elementary school dyslectic students of India and Sudan

Why uncertainty in community livelihood adaptation is important for adaptive delta management: A case study in polders of Southwest Bangladesh

To deal with large uncertainties about future climate and socio-economic developments, planners in deltas are adopting an integrative and adaptive planning approach referred to as Adaptive Delta Management (ADM). Bangladesh has used the ADM approach for the development of its adaptive plan; Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 (BDP 2100). The success of policy strategies in an adaptive delta plan critically depends on a specific adaptation of livelihoods of local communities (Community Livelihood Adaptation; CLA), especially in an agriculture-oriented society like Bangladesh. For example, while triple rice cropping might be evaluated as a robust strategy in all futures considered, its success eventually depends on whether farmers’ will actually make that choice, which is deeply uncertain. In this paper, we use literature review, insights from interviews and field observations to examine how the uncertainty in CLA impacts (adaptive) delta management. We study two historical cases of livelihood adaptation of farmer communities confronted with salinization and waterlogging in the polders of southwest Bangladesh since the 1960s. We conclude that historically the uncertainty about CLA in polders has been ignored in the development of policy plans, leading to the failure of anticipated policy outcomes. We recommend planners in Bangladesh and other deltas worldwide to take account of CLA as uncertainty when developing long-term adaptive plans.Policy Analysi

Neuropharmacological insights of African oil palm leaf through experimental assessment in rodent behavioral model and computer-aided mechanism

The present study aimed to investigate the neuropharmacological potential of methanol extract of African oil palm or Elaeis guineensis (MEEG) in Swiss albino mice and through computer-aided model. To identify the secondary metabolites in MEEG, standard phytochemical and GC-MS analyses were performed. Antidepressant activity of MEEG was assessed by forced swimming test (FST) and tail suspension test (TST) in Swiss albino mice. Besides, elevated plus maze (EPM), hole board test (HBT) and light-dark test (LDT) were used to investigate anxiolytic activities while for assessing sleeping disorder, open field test (OFT) and hole cross test (HCT) were performed. Additionally, computational and ADME/T analysis was performed using Schrödinger Maestro (v11.1) software and admetSAR online tools. The qualitative and quantitative phytochemical analyses revealed the existence of several secondary metabolites in MEEG. The oral administration of MEEG significantly reduced the immobility time in FST and TST. Similarly, promising dose-dependent anxiolytic effects were noted in all corresponding tests as compared to the control. As well, a significant decrease in the locomotion activities in experimental animals was noted during the OFT and HCT analysis. In case of computational and toxicological studies, most of the selected compounds were found considerably safe. Among the safe compounds, squalene showed promising binding energy for the antidepressant and anxiolytic activities, while stearic acid showed promising effects for the locomotion activity. The outcomes of the investigation recommend MEEG as a potential source of therapeutic candidate for the management of neurological disorders

Colorectal Cancer (CRC): Investigating the Expression of the Suppressor of Fused (<i>SuFu</i>) Gene and Its Relationship with Several Inflammatory Blood-Based Biomarkers

Background: Suppressor of fused (SuFu) is a tumor-suppressor gene that regulates hedgehog signaling. Its involvement in some malignancies is broadly accepted. However, its association with colorectal cancer (CRC) pathogenesis is not clear. Likewise, no study has clearly associated blood-based inflammatory biomarkers with cancer diagnosis/prognosis as yet. Aim: Our goal was to look at SuFu expression levels in CRC patients and its relationship with other clinicopathological factors. Additionally, we looked into the function of a few blood-based biomarkers in CRC and whether or not a combined strategy at the genetic and clinical levels can be applied in CRC. Methods: The investigation included 98 histopathologically confirmed CRC samples and adjacent normal tissues (controls). A colonoscopy was followed by a targeted biopsy for each suspected colon cancer patient. A CT scan and MRI were also performed on every patient with rectal cancer. Real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were used for assessment. A Beckman Coulter DxH900 was used to examine blood parameters. A Beckman Coulter DxI800 was used to identify pretreatment carcinoma embryonic antigens (CEA) and carbohydrate antigens (CA 19–9) in CRC patients. Results: The expression of SuFu was associated with gender, education, passive smoking, tumor grade, perineural invasion (PNI), lymph node metastasis (LNM), node status, stage, vital status, and recurrence (p RDW+PLR+NLR = 0.91, 95% CI: 0.86–0.93, p SuFu expression, node status, LNM, PNI, and stage all had significant correlations with OS and DFS rates in IHC-based univariate survival analysis (p p SuFu was downregulated both transcriptionally and translationally, was primarily nucleo-cytoplasmic, and was expressed less in high-grade tumors. In addition, SuFu was linked to a poor overall and disease-free survival rate. It may be possible to use SuFu as a therapeutic target for CRC in the future. However, SuFu expression had no effect on RDW, PLR, NLR, or HPR serum levels