Study of Phytochemical, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activity of Artocarpus heterophyllus

In today’s world, search for natural medicines is increasing as a result of drug resistance of pathogens and also due to negative consequences of antibiotic. Presence of phytochemicals, antioxidant potential and antimicrobial activity of Artocarpus heterophyllus was carried out in this study. Leaf of this plant was subjected to warm extraction with three different solvents namely methanol, aqueous methanol and ethyl acetate. Leaf extract showed the presence of coumarin, alkaloid, terpenoid in methanol solvent; tannin, coumarin, saponin in aqueous methanol extract and coumarin, terpenoids in ethyl acetate solvent. Further, antimicrobial activity was assessed through disc diffusion method with six pathological bacteria and two fungi strains in four different concentrations of plant extract. Largest ZOI of 16mm was obtained against B. subtilis in 200mg/ml concentration for ethyl acetate extract. Antioxidant potential was measured by DPPH (Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) assay. DPPH free radical Scavenging Activity was expressed in % inhibition with L Ascorbic acid as standard and leaf extract in methanol showed the best activity

Stress and Coping Mechanism among Students Residing in Private School Hostels

Background. Mental health problems can significantly impact a student’s academic performance, career, health, and future if they are not identified and managed in time. The poor mental health of young people is a global problem, including in Nepal. However, the scenario of perceived stress among adolescent students residing in academic hostels is not explored in Nepal. Therefore, this study aimed at determining the prevalence of perceived stress with its associated predictors, experienced stressors, and coping mechanisms among adolescent students residing in private hostels in Nepal. Methods. A cross-sectional study design was employed among all adolescent students of grades six to ten who resided in eight school hostels in Nepal. A total of 209 students responded to self-administered validated questionnaires for perceived stress (PSS-10) and coping scales. Results. More than half (51.67%) of the students experienced symptoms of perceived stress. Strict discipline in the hostel (77.03%) and groupism based on religion (5.26%) were the most common and least common stressors experienced, respectively. One-third of the students (n = 70, 33.5%) very often felt confident about handling personal problems. The presence of a mischievous element and neglect from friends were significant stressors determined. Seeking social support was the most used coping strategy over externalizing behaviours such as using bad words, yelling, and shouting. Conclusion. The study confirmed the presence of perceived stress among students living in hostels, where hostel residential factors were the predominant predictors. As a minority of the students can properly manage their stress, it is necessary to provide students with the appropriate educational counselling to help them deal with potential obstacles. Additionally, monitoring, increased communication with family and friends, and improving the hostel environment can be important in addressing students’ perceived stress

Biochemical, Antimicrobial, and Antioxidant activities of some wild Mushrooms from Nepal

Wild mushrooms represent a crucial dietary staple for many tribal groups throughout the world since they consist of a significant source of bioactive constituents such as phenolic compounds, tocopherol, and act as anti-cancer, anti-allergic, anti-obesity, anti-inflammatory compounds, etc. Wild mushrooms including Scleroderma citrinum, Heterobasidion annosum, Coriolus hirsutus, Cavimalum indicum, Russula sanguinea, and Suillus punctatipes were studied to evaluate their phytochemical constituents, antimicrobial activity, antioxidant activity, toxicity and its importance as a source of food along with safety concerns. Initially, the total flavonoid content (TFC), total phenolic content (TPC), and total tannin content (TTC) along with antioxidant, and antimicrobial activity were assessed using ethanolic extracts of fungus. Furthermore, a Brine shrimp bioassay was performed, the correlation of which with antioxidant activity, TPC, TFC, TTC, and lethal concentration (LC50) value was shown by principal component analysis (PCA). Secondary metabolites like glucosides, flavonoids, polyphenols, alkaloids, terpenoids, saponins, and quinones were identified using phytochemical investigations. The TPC ranged from 45.98 to 102.3 mg GAE/g for the extracts, TFC from 100 to 225 mg QE/g, and the TTC was found to vary between 80 to 180 mg GAE/g. The findings of the antioxidant studies demonstrated that S. punctatipes exhibited the highest antioxidant activity (IC50 = 16.95 µg/mL), followed by C. indicum (IC50 = 22.5 µg/mL), and C. hirsutus (IC50 = 35.34 µg/mL). Likewise, S. punctatipes exhibited strong antimicrobial activity as compared to other extracts. The larvicidal efficacy against brine shrimp tests revealed that three mushrooms; C. hirsutus, C. indicum, and S. punctatipes—contain highly toxic substances while the other three are non-toxic and when properly examined can be consumed to some extent

Study of Phytochemical, Anti-Microbial, Anti-Oxidant, Phytotoxic, and Immunomodulatory Activity Properties of Bauhinia variegata

There is growing interest in the use plants for the treatment and prevention of cancer and are currently being evaluated as promising anticancer agents. In this paper, we investigated the anti-microbial, anti-oxidant, phytotoxic and immunomodulatory of plant Bauhinia variegata and also established the presence of important phytoconstituents which might signify its anticancer property. Phytochemical screening, anti-microbial assay, phytotoxicity assay, anti-oxidant assay and immunomodulatory analysis was done according to the protocol established at Department of Biotechnology, Kathmandu University and Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, University of Karachi, Pakistan. In the phytochemical screening, we observed the presence of different phytochemicals like steroids, terpenoids, flavonoids, reducing sugars and glycosides. In case of Antimicrobial assay, the plant was found to be most effective against B.cereus with the highest zone of inhibition (ZOI) of 12mm and against Rhizopus with ZOI of 11mm. During the antioxidant assay in comparison to Ascorbic acid; at highest concentration, the scavenging activity shown by the plant Bauhinia variegata are 43.38% as compared to ascorbic acid 89.25%. In the Immunomodulatory assay at the highest concentration i.e. 250 µg/ml, the plant showed 75.1% effect, which showed that the plant has potential anti-inflammatory potential. In phytotoxicity assay, Bauhinia variegata showed 20% phytotoxicity. Bauhinia variegata has thus been proven to be an important candidate to be used as an antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, phytotoxic and anticancer agent. Separation of pure compounds with bioassay guided extraction, spectrometric analysis and subsequent cytotoxicity assay of the pure bioactive compounds from Bauhinia variegate is highly recommended as crude extract itself showed promising phytotoxicity and other pharmaceutical potential

Factors determining cognitive, motor and language scores in low birth weight infants from North India.

BackgroundChildren born with low birth weight (LBW) tend to have lower neurodevelopmental scores compared to term normal birth weight children. It is important to determine factors that influence neurodevelopment in these low birth weight children especially in the first 2-3 years of life that represents a period of substantial brain development.MethodsThis secondary data analysis was conducted using data from LBW infants enrolled soon after birth in an individually randomized controlled trial (RCT) and followed up till end of 1st year. Neurodevelopmental assessment was done at 12 months of corrected age by trained psychologists using Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development 3rd edition (Bayley-III). Factors influencing cognitive, motor and language scores were determined using multivariable linear regression model.ResultsLinear growth (i.e., length for age z score, LAZ) [cognitive: Standardized ẞ-coefficient = 2.19, 95% CI; 1.29, 3.10; motor: 2.41, 95% CI; 1.59, 3.23; language: 1.37, 95% CI; 0.70, 2.04], stimulation at home [cognitive: 0.21, 95% CI; 0.15, 0.27; motor: 0.12, 95% CI; 0.07, 0.17; language: 0.21, 95% CI; 0.16, 0.25] and number of diarrhoeal episodes [cognitive: -2.87, 95% CI; -4.34, -1.39; motor: -2.62, 95% CI; -3.93, -1.29; language: -2.25, 95% CI; -3.32, -1.17] influenced the composite scores in all three domains i.e., cognitive, language and motor. While increase in LAZ score and stimulation led to increase in composite scores; an increase in number of diarrhoeal episodes was associated with decrease in scores. Weight for height z scores (WHZ) were associated with motor and language but not with cognitive scores. Additionally, a negative association of birth order with cognitive and language scores was noted.ConclusionsThe findings indicate the possible importance of promoting nutrition and preventing diarrhoea as well as ensuring optimal stimulation and nurturance at home for enhancing child development in LBW infants

Perception towards vaccine effectiveness in controlling COVID-19 spread in rural and urban communities:a global survey

INTRODUCTION: Several studies exhibited varying reports of perception toward vaccine effectiveness, vaccine hesitancy, and acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines. As this fluctuated with evidence generation, this study explored the perception toward vaccine effectiveness in rural and urban communities among various countries. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted online from April to August 2021 using convenience sampling among people from different countries approved by the Asia Metropolitan University Medical Research and Ethics. We adapted the questionnaire from the World Health Organization's (WHO) survey tool and guidance on COVID-19. The logistic regression models were performed to show perception toward vaccine effectiveness. RESULTS: A total of 5,673 participants responded to the online survey. Overall, 64% of participants agreed that the vaccine effectively controlled viral spread, and 23% agreed that there was no need for vaccination if others were vaccinated. Males had 14% higher odds of believing that there was no need for vaccination. Less social media users had 39% higher odds of developing the belief that there is no need for vaccination than all other people vaccinated. CONCLUSION: People's perceptions toward vaccine acceptance have fluctuated with the information flow in various social media and the severity of COVID-19 cases. Therefore, it is important that the current scenario of peoples' perception toward vaccine acceptance and determinants affecting the acceptance are explored to promote the vaccination approach against COVID-19 prevention and transmission effectively

Genome-wide admixture and association study of subclinical atherosclerosis in the Women’s Interagency HIV Study (WIHS)

<div><p>Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major comorbidity among HIV-infected individuals. Common carotid artery intima-media thickness (cCIMT) is a valid and reliable subclinical measure of atherosclerosis and is known to predict CVD. We performed genome-wide association (GWA) and admixture analysis among 682 HIV-positive and 288 HIV-negative Black, non-Hispanic women from the Women’s Interagency HIV study (WIHS) cohort using a combined and stratified analysis approach. We found some suggestive associations but none of the SNPs reached genome-wide statistical significance in our GWAS analysis. The top GWAS SNPs were rs2280828 in the region intergenic to mediator complex subunit 30 and exostosin glycosyltransferase 1 (<i>MED30</i> | <i>EXT1</i>) among all women, rs2907092 in the catenin delta 2 (<i>CTNND2</i>) gene among HIV-positive women, and rs7529733 in the region intergenic to family with sequence similarity 5, member C and regulator of G-protein signaling 18 (<i>FAM5C</i> | <i>RGS18</i>) genes among HIV-negative women. The most significant local European ancestry associations were in the region intergenic to the zinc finger and SCAN domain containing 5D gene and NADH: ubiquinone oxidoreductase complex assembly factor 1 (<i>ZSCAN5D</i> | <i>NDUF1</i>) pseudogene on chromosome 19 among all women, in the region intergenic to vomeronasal 1 receptor 6 pseudogene and zinc finger protein 845 (<i>VN1R6P</i> | <i>ZNF845</i>) gene on chromosome 19 among HIV-positive women, and in the region intergenic to the SEC23-interacting protein and phosphatidic acid phosphatase type 2 domain containing 1A (<i>SEC23IP</i> | <i>PPAPDC1A</i>) genes located on chromosome 10 among HIV-negative women. A number of previously identified SNP associations with cCIMT were also observed and included rs2572204 in the ryanodine receptor 3 (<i>RYR3</i>) and an admixture region in the secretion-regulating guanine nucleotide exchange factor (<i>SERGEF</i>) gene. We report several SNPs and gene regions in the GWAS and admixture analysis, some of which are common across HIV-positive and HIV-negative women as demonstrated using meta-analysis, and also across the two analytic approaches (i.e., GWA and admixture). These findings suggest that local European ancestry plays an important role in genetic associations of cCIMT among black women from WIHS along with other environmental factors that are related to CVD and may also be triggered by HIV. These findings warrant confirmation in independent samples.</p></div