SAMAN MUFRIT (OBESITY) CONCEPT AND MANAGEMENT IN THE LIGHT OF UNANI LITERATURES

Obesity is a term used to describe body weight that is much higher than what is thought to be healthy for his or her height. It has become a serious public health problem. It affects 32.2% of the population. The worldwide prevalence of obesity is 1.6 billion and is reached epidemic proportions mostly in high income groups. Changes in dietary habits and sedentary lifestyles are known to be associated with changes in health and increased prevalence of chronic diseases. During the past decades efficacious strategies have been developed for prevention of these changes. These strategies involve general lifestyle changes, which include healthy diet, optimal weight, physical activity, no alcohol consumption. In the management strategies, Unani medicine plays an important role. Details about Saman Mufrit (Obesity) are described in various classic literatures of Unani medicine. For example Ibn Sina has mentioned a chapter on the disadvantages of obesity (Oyub al-Saman al-Mufrit) and a chapter on regimen of weight decrease (Tahzeel). Number of herbs is documented in Unani classics to reduce weight which includes Luk-e-Maghsool, Muqil (Commiphora mukul Linn.), Kharkhask (Tribulus terrestris Linn.), Haldi (Curcuma longa Linn.) and Zeera Siyah (Carum carvi, Linn.) etc. These herbs are the most common traditional Unani medicines used for weight loss, but there is a need to explore the efficacy of these drugs in a scientific manner. This paper focuses on the management of obesity through three basic fundamentals which are Ilaj bil Ghiza (diet therapy), Ilaj bil Tadbeer (regimental therapy) and Ilaj bil Dawa (drug therapy)

Low cost spectro photometric determination of paraquat in environmental and biological sample

An extractive, sensitive spectrophotometer method has been developed for the detection and determination of paraquat using glucose ( as easily available reducing agent ). Paraquat is reduced with glucose in alkaline medium to give a blue colored ion with an absorbance maxima at 610 nm. Beer’s law is obeyed in the range 0.5-5.0 µg of paraquat in 10ml of the final solution (ppm). The important analytical parameters and the optimum reaction conditions were evaluated. The method was applied successfully to the determination of paraquat in water, grain, plant material and biological sample

Numerical and experimental investigation of an Archimedes screw turbine for open channel water flow application

AbstractLow‐head turbines are becoming an agricultural imperative due to their high efficiency, low cost, ability to operate at low flow rates and minimal environmental impact. Therefore, the Archimedes screw turbine (AST) can play a leading role for producing electric power, especially in Pakistan's rural areas where most of the places have less than 1 m head. In this research work, performance evaluation of AST was carried out at different flow velocities in terms of power coefficient and torque generated. Design parameters such as blade width, blade pitches, and blade rotational angles are also used for performance evaluation. For this purpose, computational fluid dynamic (CFD) analyses of AST blades were conducted at different water flow velocities (e.g., 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, and 3.5 m/s). ANSYS FLUENT was used for AST blade simulations using three different design parameters such as blade width, blade pitch, and blade rotational angles. Additionally, CFD simulations have inherent errors and uncertainties that may lead to findings and deviations from their exact or real values. To prevent these uncertainties and errors, an experimental study was also conducted to provide validation for the CFD simulation results. The results revealed from CFD simulations for optimized design parameters were then compared with experimental data. From the results, it was examined that the numerical findings were in good agreement with the experiment data. The highest power coefficient and power output values were obtained under optimized design parameters such as inner and outer diameter, blade pitch, blade width, blade rotation angles and shaft length (e.g., 40 mm, 120 mm, 130 mm, 2 mm, 60°, and 850 mm respectively). The findings can be useful to implement the AST unit for those places where the available water head is ranging from 1 to 6.5 m and a flow rate of 0.2–6.5 m3/s, especially for rural areas of Pakistan

Growth and proximate composition of tropical marine Chaetoceros calcitrans and Nannochloropsis oculata cultured outdoors and under laboratory conditions

The growth and proximate composition of two marine microalgae, Chaetoceros calcitrans and Nannochloropsis oculata, cultured outdoors under shade (24 to 36°C, 140 μmol/m2/s) and laboratory conditions (environmental chamber, 23°C for C. calcitrans and 20°C for N. oculata, 150 μmol/m2/s) were compared. Outdoor cultures of both C. calcitrans and N. oculata had significantly higher (p < 0.05) biomass, cell count, optical density and specific growth rate compared to the cultures grown under laboratory conditions. Lipid content was significantly higher in C. calcitrans grown outdoors, whereas, protein and carbohydrate composition did not show any significant differences (p > 0.05) between the outdoor and laboratory cultures. In the case of N. oculata, no significant differences (p > 0.05) were found in protein and lipid composition, but carbohydrate was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the outdoor culture. In addition, the results showed that both C. calcitrans and N. oculata cultures grew faster outdoors, producing more biomass within a shorter period of time. This study illustrated that outdoor culture of microalgae was viable despite the fluctuating environmental conditions.Key words: Growth, proximate composition, Chaetoceros calcitrans, Nannochloropsis oculata, outdoor culture

DPRK'S Nuclear Conundrum and the U.S.-North Korea Negotiations: A Never-Ending Saga

The challenge of nuclear proliferation in the Korean peninsula since 2006 with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) first nuclear test had not only drawn the global attention but created a perilous situation on the peninsula. Further the Hwasong-15 Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) of DPRK that was tested in February2023and thereafter hasheightenedtensionsbetween WashingtonandJapanwithPyongyang. The United States’(U.S.) diplomatic efforts to engage North Korea through bilateral means in recent times resulted inthefirst historic summit inSingapore (2018) and later in Vietnam(2019). Though these are undoubtedly positive developments, however, in the absence of any tangible deal after the Hanoi summit, the big question remainswillthe U.S.and North Korea end their mutual misperceptions, and worktowards a viable solution.At the moment, the very fact that since 2019, the U.S. and North Korea have had no official dialoguesis evident that misperceptions and distrust continues and finding any sort of solution is going to be a very difficult task now that North Korea has closed its borderssince the COVID-19 pandemic started. The more isolated Pyongyang is, the morebelligerent it willbecome in testing its missile

Enhanced Arabic disaster data classification using domain adaptation

Natural disasters, like pandemics and earthquakes, are some of the main causes of distress and casualties. Governmental crisis management processes are crucial when dealing with these types of problems. Social media platforms are among the main sources of information regarding current events and public opinion. So, they have been used extensively to aid disaster detection and prevention efforts. Therefore, there is always a need for better automatic systems that can detect and classify disaster data of social media. In this work, we propose enhanced Arabic disaster data classification models. The suggested models utilize domain adaptation to provide state-of-the-art accuracy. We used a standard dataset of Arabic disaster data collected from Twitter for testing the proposed models. Experimental results show that the provided models significantly outperform the previous state-of-the-art results

Measuring gender attitudes using list experiments

We elicit adolescent girls’ attitudes towards intimate partner violence and child marriage using purposefully collected data from rural Bangladesh. Alongside direct survey questions, we conduct list experiments to elicit true preferences for intimate partner violence and marriage before age 18. Responses to direct survey questions suggest that very few adolescent girls in the study accept the practises of intimate partner violence and child marriage (5% and 2%). However, our list experiments reveal significantly higher support for both intimate partner violence and child marriage (at 30% and 24%). We further investigate how numerous variables relate to preferences for egalitarian gender norms in rural Bangladesh

Chronic suppurative otitis media: a clinico-microbiological menace

Background: Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media (CSOM) is an important cause of preventable hearing loss. Global emergence of resistant strains is of great concern. The aim of the present study was to determine the etiology and antibiotic sensitivity pattern of bacterial isolates from CSOM cases with special emphasis on ESBL (Extended Spectrum Beta- Lactamases) and AmpC beta lactamases.Methods: Patients with sign and symptoms suggestive of CSOM, ESBL (Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamases), AmpC beta lactamases and MBLs (Metallo beta lactamases) were included. Two ear swabs were taken from all the patients and cultured on blood agar and MacConkeyagar. Bacterial identification of isolates was done using standard biochemicals. Antimicrobial susceptibility was performed by Kirby-Bauer's disc diffusion method as per the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines using antibiotic discs (HI MEDIA).Results: Out of 130 patients, 110(84.62%) had bacterial growth. The common pathogenic species were Pseudomonas aeruginosa 36(37.89%), Staphylococcus aureus 31(32.63%), Citrobacter koseri 9(9.47%) and Proteus vulgaris 6(6.32%). P. aeruginosa showed maximum sensitivity to colistin (94.4%), polymixin-B (91.3%) and imipenem (91.3%). Gram positive cocci showed maximum sensitivity to vancomycin (99%).MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and HLAR (High Level Aminoglycoside Resistance) were detected in 9(29%) S. aureus and 1(50%) Enterococcus faecalis respectively. ESBL and AmpC were detected in 11(18.3%) and 12(20%) Gram negative bacteria, respectively and MBL producer was not detected.Conclusion: P. aeruginosa was found to be the most common isolate in CSOM cases and colistin, polymixin-B and imipenem was found to be most effective antibiotics.

Antihyperglycemic and antinociceptive activity evaluation of ‘Khoyer’ prepared from boiling the wood of Acacia catechu in water

‘Khoyer’ is prepared by boiling the wood of Acacia catechu in water and then evaporating the resultant brew. The resultant hard material is powdered and chewed with betel leaves and lime with or without tobacco by a large number of the people of Bangladesh as an addictive psycho-stimulating and euphoria-inducing formulation. There are folk medicinal claims that khoyer helps in the relief of pain and is also useful to diabetic patients to maintain normal sugar levels. Thus far no scientific studies have evaluated the antihyperglycemic and antinociceptive effects of khoyer. The present study was carried out to evaluate the possible glucose tolerance efficacy of methanolic extracts of khoyer using glucose-induced hyperglycemic mice, and antinociceptive effects with acetic acid-induced gastric pain models in mice. In antihyperglycemic activity tests, the extract at different doses was administered one hour prior to glucose  administration and blood glucose level was measured after two hoursof glucose administration (p.o.) using glucose oxidase method. The statistical data indicated the significant oral hypoglycemic activity on glucose-loaded mice at all doses of the extracts tested. Maximum anti-hyperglycemic activity was shown at 400 mg extract per kg body weight, which was less than that of a standard drug, glibenclamide (10 mg/kg body weight). In antinociceptive activity tests, the extract also demonstrated a dose-dependent significant reduction in the number of writhing induced in mice through intraperitoneal administration of acetic acid. Maximum antinociceptive activity was observed at a dose of 400 mg extract per kg body weight, which was greater than that of a standard antinociceptive drug, aspirin, when administered at a dose of 400 mg per kg body weight. The results validate the folk medicinal use of the plant for reduction of blood sugar in diabetic patients, as well as the folk medicinal use for alleviation of pain.Key words: Acacia catechu, antihyperglycemic, antinociceptive, khoye

Easy access to crystalline indolines via hydrogen bond transfer

Several indoline derivatives with specific geometries are biologically active and have inhibitor properties. Many indolines are a key part of natural products. Much attention has been focused on the development of synthetic routes for their easy access. Current synthesis depends largely on metal catalysis, iodine reagents, and Oxone. To date, no synthetic route has been established that is metal‐free, reagent‐free, and environmentally friendly and provides a base for green chemistry. Here, we report the first facile metal‐free and reagent‐free synthesis of indoline derivatives, which could potentially be influential in the design of new biologically active compounds. The synthesis proceeds through intramolecular amination between a urea nucleophile and unactivated alkene. The ring closure occurs in a few hours in the presence of pre‐dried silica gel and gives good yields of indolines products, but in the absence of silica gel, the ring closure occurred overnight with stirring in dry solvent. An electron withdrawing group at the substituted aryl moiety of ureas increases the hydrogen bond donor ability of substrates that mediate the internal proton transfer at the terminal alkene and results in facile amination to give the indoline product with an “in plane” orientation of the carbonyl group and aromatic part of indoline framework. Such orientation in indolines is important for potent biological activities