To Evaluate and Compare the Efficacy of Vidarikanda Churna and Kataka Churna in the Management of Male Sexual Function and Visual Acuity

Background: Eye is an important sense organ. It is very important to protect vision. Aacharya Sushruta described Atimaithuna (excessive sexual activity), in etiological factors causing Netraroga. Excessive sexinduced stress hormones – epinephrine and nor-epinephrine – may damage retinal endothelial cells, inflame eye balls and dilate pupils, over sensitivity to light in the retina and adverse effect on power of vision.Need of study: Most ophthalmologists can effectively diagnose and treat blurred vision caused by glaucoma, cataracts, presbyopia, diabetes, macular degeneration or retinal detachment. But for sexually exhausted people with blurred vision, the problem goes undiagnosed and treated.Aim: To evaluate and compare the efficacy of Vidarikanda churna and Kataka churna in the management of male sexual function and poor vision.Materials and Methods: 110 patients who had Timira (refractive errors) with associated symptoms of male sexual dysfunction (MSD) were selected for randomized control trial on the basis of prepared inclusion and exclusion criteria; out of them 50 patients each were divided in two groups (excluding drop outs)named Group A and Group B.Results: The trial drug Kataka churna showed statistically significant results in subjective parameters of visual disturbances (Timira roga) and visual acuity. Vidarikanda churna significantly improved the quality of vision and MSD.Conclusion: The study overall concluded that Shukravradhaka drugs like Vidarikanda significantly improve the quality of vision

Study on the qualitative assessment of in-vessel food waste compost by indexing method

The consumption of different food-based goods produces a considerable amount of waste that needs to be conserved in an eco-friendly manner. A study was carried out on food waste compost made from the in-vessel compost process for use in agriculture and its marketability for its fertility and contamination potential. Food waste samples were collected from the canteen and hostels of GITAM University,  Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), India and were transferred to a 125Kg in-vessel food waste composter (Molten Mind F125) and allowed to digest for 24 hrs followed by curing for seven days. After curing, the samples were characterized for nutrient content for fertility index (FI) and heavy metal contamination for clean index (CI). The compost quality index was derived from FI and CI to assess its suitability for agriculture. The pH of the food waste compost sample was reported as 8.4 and the C/N ratio was 28, which was higher than the standard ratio (15-20). The other physicochemical characteristics were analyzed using the standard methods and the concentration of metals was analyzed using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry ( ICPMS). From the analysis, it was evident that heavy metal concentrations were well within the permissible limits. Further, the compost was characterized to know the fertility index (FI) and contamination index (CI) and its suitability to the soil. FI value was reported as more than 3.1 and CI value more than 4, which indicated that compost was best in quality, having high-value potential and low heavy-metal content, which will be suitable for high-value crops such as organic farming.

Spatially explicit database on crop-livestock management, soil, climate, greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation potential for all of Bangladesh

Acknowledgments: The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) carried out this work with support of the CGIAR research program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and the Climate Services for Resilient Development (CSRD; https://ccafs.cgiar.org/research/projects/climate-services-resilient-development-south-asia) for South Asia project supported by USAID. This work was also supported by the USAID and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) supported Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA; https://csisa.org) CCAFS’ work is supported by CGIAR Fund Donors and through bilateral funding agreements. For details please visit https://ccafs.cgiar.org/donors. The views expressed in this paper cannot be taken to reflect the official opinions of CCAFS, USAID, or BMGF, and shall not be used for advertising.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Quantifying opportunities for greenhouse gas emissions mitigation using big data from smallholder crop and livestock farmers across Bangladesh

Funding Information: The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) carried out this work with support of the CGIAR research program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and the Climate Services for Resilient Development (CSRD; https://ccafs.cgiar.org/research/projects/climate-services-resilient-development-south-asia ) for South Asia project supported by USAID . This work was also supported by the USAID and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) supported Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA; https://csisa.org ). CCAFS' work is supported by CGIAR Fund Donors and through bilateral funding agreements. For details please visit https://ccafs.cgiar.org/donors . The views expressed in this paper cannot be taken to reflect the official opinions of CCAFS, USAID, or BMGF, and shall not be used for advertising. We sincerely acknowledge the input and support provided by various stakeholders in Bangladesh during stakeholder meetings. We are thankful to Robel Takele and Sanjay Pothireddy for graphics assistance.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Monitoring Metropolitan Growth Dynamics for Achieving Sustainable Urbanization (SDG 11.3) in Kolkata Metropolitan Area, India

From MDPI via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: accepted 2021-10-29, pub-electronic 2021-11-03Publication status: PublishedThe mass accumulation of population in the larger cities of India has led to accelerated and unprecedented peripheral urban expansion over the last few decades. This rapid peripheral growth is characterized by an uncontrolled, low density, fragmented and haphazard patchwork of development popularly known as urban sprawl. The Kolkata Metropolitan Area (KMA) has been one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in India and is experiencing rampant suburbanization and peripheral expansion. Hence, understanding urban growth and its dynamics in these rapidly changing environments is critical for city planners and resource managers. Furthermore, understanding urban expansion and urban growth patterns are essential for achieving inclusive and sustainable urbanization as defined by the United Nations in the Sustainable Development Goals (e.g., SDGs, 11.3). The present research attempts to quantify and model the urban growth dynamics of large and diverse metropolitan areas with a distinct methodology considering the case of KMA. In the study, land use and land cover (LULC) maps of KMA were prepared for three different years (i.e., for 1996, 2006, and 2016) through the classification of Landsat imagery using a support vector machine (SVM) classification approach. Then, change detection analysis, landscape metrics, a concentric zone approach, and Shannon’s entropy approach were applied for spatiotemporal assessment and quantification of urban growth in KMA. The achieved classification accuracies were found to be 89.75%, 92.00%, and 92.75%, with corresponding Kappa values of 0.879, 0.904, and 0.912 for 1996, 2006, and 2016, respectively. It is concluded that KMA has been experiencing typical urban sprawl. The peri-urban areas (i.e., KMA-rural) are growing rapidly, and are characterized by leapfrogging and fragmented built-up area development, compared to the central KMA (i.e., KMA-urban), which has become more compact in recent years

Do Web-based Mental Health Literacy Interventions Improve the Mental Health Literacy of Adult Consumers? Results From a Systematic Review

Background: Low levels of mental health literacy (MHL) have been identified as an important contributor to the mental health treatment gap. Interventions to improve MHL have used traditional media (eg, community talks, print media) and new platforms (eg, the Internet). Evaluations of interventions using conventional media show improvements in MHL improve community recognition of mental illness as well as knowledge, attitude, and intended behaviors toward people having mental illness. However, the potential of new media, such as the Internet, to enhance MHL has yet to be systematically evaluated. Objective: Study aims were twofold: (1) To systematically appraise the efficacy of Web-based interventions in improving MHL. (2) To establish if increases in MHL translated into improvement in individual health seeking and health outcomes as well as reductions in stigma toward people with mental illness. Methods: We conducted a systematic search and appraisal of all original research published between 2000 and 2015 that evaluated Web-based interventions to improve MHL. The PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines were used to report findings. Results: Fourteen studies were included: 10 randomized controlled trials and 4 quasi-experimental studies. Seven studies were conducted in Australia. A variety of Web-based interventions were identified ranging from linear, static websites to highly interactive interventions such as social media games. Some Web-based interventions were specifically designed for people living with mental illness whereas others were applicable to the general population. Interventions were more likely to be successful if they included “active ingredients” such as a structured program, were tailored to specific populations, delivered evidenced-based content, and promoted interactivity and experiential learning.Conclusions: Web-based interventions targeting MHL are more likely to be successful if they include active ingredients. Improvements in MHL see concomitant improvements in health outcomes, especially for individuals with mild to moderate depression. The most promising interventions suited to this cohort appear to be MoodGYM and BluePages, 2 interventions from Australia. However, the relationship between MHL and formal and informal help seeking is less clear; self-stigma appears to be an important mediator with results showing that despite improvements in MHL and community attitudes to mental illness, individuals with mental illness still seek help at relatively low rates. Overall, the Internet is a viable method to improve MHL. Future studies could explore how new technology interfaces (eg, mobile phones vs computers) can help improve MHL, mental health outcomes, and reduce stigma

Silymarin Targets β-Catenin Signaling in Blocking Migration/Invasion of Human Melanoma Cells

Metastatic melanoma is a leading cause of death from skin diseases, and is often associated with activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. We have examined the inhibitory effect of silymarin, a plant flavanoid from Silybum marianum, on cell migration of metastasis-specific human melanoma cell lines (A375 and Hs294t) and assessed whether Wnt/β-catenin signaling is the target of silymarin. Using an in vitro invasion assay, we found that treatment of human melanoma cell lines with silymarin resulted in concentration-dependent inhibition of cell migration, which was associated with accumulation of cytosolic β-catenin, while reducing the nuclear accumulation of β-catenin (i.e., β-catenin inactivation) and reducing the levels of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) -2 and MMP-9 which are the down-stream targets of β-catenin. Silymarin enhanced: (i) the levels of casein kinase 1α, glycogen synthase kinase-3β and phosphorylated-β-catenin on critical residues Ser45, Ser33/37 and Thr41, and (ii) the binding of β-transducin repeat-containing proteins (β-TrCP) with phospho forms of β-catenin in melanoma cells. These events play important roles in degradation or inactivation of β-catenin. To verify whether β-catenin is a potent molecular target of silymarin, the effect of silymarin was determined on β-catenin-activated (Mel 1241) and β-catenin-inactivated (Mel 1011) melanoma cells. Treatment of Mel 1241 cells with silymarin or FH535, an inhibitor of Wnt/β-catenin pathway, significantly inhibited cell migration of Mel 1241 cells, which was associated with the elevated levels of casein kinase 1α and glycogen synthase kinase-3β, and decreased accumulation of nuclear β-catenin and inhibition of MMP-2 and MMP-9 levels. However, this effect of silymarin and FH535 was not found in Mel 1011 melanoma cells. These results indicate for the first time that silymarin inhibits melanoma cell migration by targeting β-catenin signaling pathway

Characteristics of transposable element exonization within human and mouse

Insertion of transposed elements within mammalian genes is thought to be an important contributor to mammalian evolution and speciation. Insertion of transposed elements into introns can lead to their activation as alternatively spliced cassette exons, an event called exonization. Elucidation of the evolutionary constraints that have shaped fixation of transposed elements within human and mouse protein coding genes and subsequent exonization is important for understanding of how the exonization process has affected transcriptome and proteome complexities. Here we show that exonization of transposed elements is biased towards the beginning of the coding sequence in both human and mouse genes. Analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) revealed that exonization of transposed elements can be population-specific, implying that exonizations may enhance divergence and lead to speciation. SNP density analysis revealed differences between Alu and other transposed elements. Finally, we identified cases of primate-specific Alu elements that depend on RNA editing for their exonization. These results shed light on TE fixation and the exonization process within human and mouse genes.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure