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

Coadministration of black seeds and turmeric shows enhanced efficacy in preventing metabolic syndrome in fructose-fed rats

Among noncommunicable diseases, metabolic syndrome(MS), a cluster of metabolic disorders including obesity, hypergly-cemia, hyperlipidemia and hypertension, is highly prevalent in modern society. Its management requires lifestyle modifications and/or the life-long use of multiple medications, hence demandingdevelopment of safe alternative remedies. This study was aimed toestablish the efficacy of combined use of black seeds and turmeric using fructose-fed rat model of MS. The high-performance liquid chromatographic fingerprints of turmeric and black seeds showed thepresence of curcumin and thymoquinone, respectively, as their majorconstitutes. Different doses of black seeds and turmeric, individuallyand in combination, were administered to fructose-fed rats for up to 6 weeks representing characteristic features of MS. At 3 weeks of the treatment, black seeds and turmeric lowered (P0.01) high blood pressure and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, respectively,whereas their coadministration reduced (P,0.01) both high blood pressure and hypertriglyceridemia. At 6 weeks, the coadministration of both herbs, at half the doses of individual herbs, was the mosteffective (P0.001) in preventing hypertension, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, hyperinsulinemia, and endothelial dysfunction than the individual herbs. This study demonstrates the therapeutic superiority of the combination of black seeds and turmeric at low doses over individually tested herbs, in improving features of MS