Phytochemical analysis of Ficus thonningii: A qualitative study

This study assessed the phytochemical contents of the aqueous, ethanol, ethyl acetate and methanol extracts of the fruit, leaves, root, and stem of F. thonningii at selected concentrations. The contents of alkaloids, tannins, saponins, volatile oils, phenols and flavonoids were determined qualitatively in these extracts at selected concentrations. The results obtained showed that alkaloids are present in the leaves, roots and stem barks of Ficus thonningii. The volatile oil is found in the stem bark, root bark, and fruit (aqueous only) of the plant. Saponin is found to be concentrated in all the extracts of the plant. Phenol is found to be concentrated in the fruit of the plant. Its presence is also confirmed in the leaves (at few concentrations) and present in trace amount in the stem bark. Tannin is found in the fruit, root bark and leaves of Ficus thonningii.  Flavonoids are found in all the parts of Ficus thonningii. The variety of phytochemicals confirmed in the fruit, leaves, stem, and root barks of Ficus thonningii show that the plant is pharmacologically active

Comparative evaluation of acetaminophen form (I) in commercialized paracetamol brands

The vibrational spectroscopy (FT-IR/Raman) and X-ray diffraction techniques are combined alongside the principal component analysis (PCA) as novel integrated analytical techniques to comparatively investigate latent chemical information and quality discrepancies regarding twelve (12) commercialized paracetamol (APAP) brands. This research aim is to present an advanced computational screening approach using spectroscopic and X-ray diffraction techniques with PCA as a tool to investigate the structural properties of pharmaceutical solid drugs by vibrational mode and diffraction pattern analyzes. Herein, the acquired vibrational, absorption, and diffraction datasets of APAP functionalities were collected at spectra and diffraction regions of intense peaks to develop predictive PCA models. Interestingly, the PCA models invalidate drug falsification in all the brands and predicted dissimilarities arising from observed differences in the vibrational/absorption modes of APAP form (I) in some brands due to excessive use of cheap (fillers and hydrocolloid alternatives) excipients. The PCA-PXRD model unveils discrepancies regarding the contrasting diffraction patterns (structure-property relationships) observed for APAP form (I) in the brands, which suggests differences in their pharmacokinetic properties cause an unapparent structural modification. Nevertheless, the comparative drug release studies present a%CDR between 93 and 98% in 30 min for all the brands, thus, structural modifications of APAP form (I) as observed in some brands show no serious effects on the%CDR and/ or solubility. Finally, it is expected that this work will contribute to the advances in screening techniques toward addressing the global drug challenges, especially in developing countries

Formative evaluation of immersive virtual reality expedition mini-games to facilitate computational thinking

Recently, virtual reality (VR) technology has shown great potential in advancing education with many pedagogical benefits for building the 21st-century teaching and learning experience. This study conducted a formative evaluation of an immersive VR expedition application with the aim of understanding users' learning processes and how the application facilitates higher education students' computational thinking skills. Six participants were randomly selected to conduct this evaluation. A mixed research approach consisting of quantitative and qualitative methods was employed. The study quantitatively analyzed users' scores from gameplay to understand how the intervention supported computational thinking skills. Participants were also interviewed to collect data after playing the mini-games to investigate users' experiences. The study showcases players' computational thinking competency, assessed automatically during gameplay. Further, this study used inductive content analysis to demonstrate users' reactions to prototyped VR mini-games. The qualitative findings suggest that users found the VR mini-games interactive and immersive, which provided an opportunity to foster learners' computational thinking skills. The quantitative analysis revealed that student's computational thinking competency can be enhanced through consistent playing of the mini-games. Moreover, the expedition aspect of the VR game stimulated learners' curiosity, which sustained their learning progress. Furthermore, users gained new knowledge and found the mini-games educative. Nevertheless, several aspects of the VR mini-games need improvements, according to users' perceptions. This study contributes to the knowledge in terms of the affordances of VR in education research and provides relevant insights that can shape future studies, for example, the recent hype of metaverse in education.Godkänd;2023;Nivå 0;2023-03-31 (hanlid);</p

Unveiling the dark side of glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) in cancers and other human pathology: a systematic review

Abstract Glucose-Regulated Protein 78 (GRP78) is a chaperone protein that is predominantly expressed in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum. GRP78 plays a crucial role in protein folding by assisting in the assembly of misfolded proteins. Under cellular stress conditions, GRP78 can translocate to the cell surface (csGRP78) were it interacts with different ligands to initiate various intracellular pathways. The expression of csGRP78 has been associated with tumor initiation and progression of multiple cancer types. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of the existing evidence on the roles of GRP78 in various types of cancer and other human pathology. Additionally, the review discusses the current understanding of the mechanisms underlying GRP78's involvement in tumorigenesis and cancer advancement. Furthermore, we highlight recent innovative approaches employed in downregulating GRP78 expression in cancers as a potential therapeutic target