ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL STUDIES OF Polypodium vulgare Linn. : A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW

Polypodium vulgare Linn. commonly called as Bisfaij is a medicinal plant which is used in various ailments. It is one of the most archaic and essential plant, belonging to the family Polypodiaceae. It contains organic substances such as resin, tannins, steroids, flavonoids, alkaloids, glycosides, protein, reducing sugar and inorganic substances like calcium, magnesium, potassium, sulphur, iron and chloride. It is used in Unani system of medicine for the treatment of sorethroat, stomach-aches, leprosy, melancholia, spleenomegaly, haemorrhoids, rheumatic swelling of the joints etc. Besides this, it has other pharmacological activities too such as antiepileptic, neuro-psychopharmacological, antipyretic, antibiotic, antiviral etc. This review paper discuses the medicinal values of Polypodium vulgare Linn. in Unani medicine as well as its modern pharmacology and gives a new impetus to utilize Bisfaij in various disorders. Keywords: Bisfaij, Polypodium vulgare Linn, Phytopharmacology, Unani Medicine

Role of Nanoparticles in Abiotic Stress

Nanotechnology is currently seeking much attention of researchers because of their wide applications in diverse sectors including agriculture. The influence of nanoparticles on physiological state of plants at the different levels of their organization, beginning from molecular, has been studied at various plants. It is known that nanoparticles in different concentrations can impact both positive and negative biological effects. Nanomaterials confer profound uses for sustainable crop production, reducing loss of nutrients, suppression of diseases and thereby enhancing the yields. Concerning the role of nanomaterials in alleviating the damage of plant abiotic stresses or in inhibiting plant growth and its toxicity, further studies are essential under different levels including plant molecular and cellular levels. A wide variety of research has been conducted to study plant responses to waterlogging stress that include various disciplines like molecular, biochemical, and physiological, anatomical and morphological examinations. Nano technological implications for curbing water-logged conditions recently came into limelight and have drawn much attention in the last few years. Nanotechnology is defined as the systems and processes which operate at a scale of 100 nm or less. Nanotechnology has many applications in the field of agriculture. There are majority of nano-materials which are known for its plant growth promoting effects. Nanoparticles have unique physiochemical properties such as high reactivity, particle morphology, and large surface area. They also boost the plant metabolism

Thermal comfort inside a gable-roofed metallic shed in a higher educational institution: a case study and detailed analysis

Central workshop is an integral part of any higher education institution, and it will be generally operated in a gable-roofed metallic shed. The users of the building are affected physiologically and psychologically due to the thermal discomfort conditions caused by improper ventilation. It is necessary to study the cause for discomfort and propose cost and effective methods to mitigate the problem. In this work, the thermal comfort inside a gable-roofed workshop was analyzed, and it was found that the discomfort was predominant from 2 PM to 5 PM. It was predicted that the conduction heat transfer could be reduced upto 55% with the help of passive cooling technique carried out using aluminium bubble wrap. During the life cycle cost study, the aluminium bubble wrap technique was found to be more economical over high-volume low-speed fan. The computer simulation aided in the prediction of overall heat transfer coefficient and conduction heat transfer through wall. The results from numerical study deviated by less than 0.1% when compared with that from the theoretical model

Phytochemicals enriched Punica granatum L. peel extract promotes the chondrocyte proliferation by inducing cell cycle progression and inhibiting of NO-induced cell death and ROS production

17-28Punica granatum L. has been used as a traditional remedy to treat sore throat, cough, digestive and skin disorders, urinary infection, arthritis and expel tape-worm. Modern research focuses on its use on arthritis, diabetes and cancer. The present study was conducted to identify the bioactive phytochemicals in the ethanolic extract of Punica granatum peel (PGP) through GC-MS to illustrate its proliferation, antioxidant and anti-apoptotic activities in an established in vitro primary cultured chondrocyte. The cells were treated with 25 μM indomethacin, positive control and different concentration of PGP in the absence or presence of different inhibitors such as (H2O2 for ROS production and sodium nitroprusside [SNP] for nitric oxide [NO] induced cell death). The cell viability assay and cell cycle analysis were performed to study the proliferation of cells. Oxidative stress was measured as intracellular ROS and anti-apoptotic activities were studied through nuclear staining assays like DAPI and PI-Exclusion staining. The GC-MS result indicates the presence various antioxidants such as kaempferol, quercetin, myricetin, luteolin, ascorbic acid, gallic acid, vitamin C and lycopene. The PGP treatment on chondrocytes shows increased proliferation and decreased apoptosis through the reduction of oxidative stress in a concentration-dependent manner. The rise in the total number of chondrocytes at higher doses of PGP was significant (p<0.05) as compared to indomethacin (positive control) treated cells. The findings suggest that PGP exhibits therapeutic antioxidant potential due to the presence of bioactive components regulating oxidative stress , promoting the chondrocytes proliferation and inhibiting apoptosis of chondrocytes

Effect of individual, simultaneous and sequential inoculation of pseudomonas fluorescens and meloidogyne incognita on growth, biochemical, enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidants of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum l.)

This study was conducted on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum cv. K-21) to investigate the bioprotective nature of Pseudomonas fluorescens and its interactive effects with Meloidogyne incognita in terms of growth biomarkers, changes in biochemical attributes and modulation in antioxidant enzymes of the tomato plant. In this study, we grew tomato plants with M. incognita and P. fluorescens in separate pots, simultaneously and sequentially (15 days prior or post) after 15 days of seed sowing. The sequential inoculation of Mi15→Pf maximally increased the root-knot index and decreased the nematode population. It was also noted that inoculation suppressed the plant growth biomarkers in comparison to control. However, maximum suppression in nematode reproduction and increment in growth and physiological attributes were observed when P. fluorescens was applied 15 days prior to the nematode (Pf15→Mi) as compared to control. All the treatments showed an increase in antioxidant enzymes. Expression of phenol content and defensive enzymes such as peroxidase (POX) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) increased, in contrast to a significant reduction in malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ) contents when compared with the untreated inoculated plants. However, the highest levels of POX and SOD, and a lowest of phenol, MDA and H2 O2 were displayed in the treatment Pf15→Mi, followed by Mi+Pf and Mi15→Pf

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Effect of coating of waste toner powder weight concentration on absorber plate of solar still

A solar still is a device that uses sun energy to convert brackish or salted water into drinkable water and its distillate output is lower. In addition, it is the primary issue with the solar still; thus, researchers are looking for fresh ideas to raise the distillate output. The primary goal of this study is to examine the effects of mixing different weight concentrations (5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%) of toner waste powder (TWP) nanoparticles with black paint on distillate output and energy–exergy efficiency analysis. Two solar stills of similar dimensions have been used in the current study from February to March 2023 at Palanpur, Gujarat, India. Basin water, inner glass surface temperature, distillate output, and intensity of solar radiation are all monitored hourly for solar stills. This research indicates that the application of TWP coating to absorber plates increased the distillate output, and the highest distillate output of 955 ml was achieved at 10 wt. % concentration of nanoparticles, which is 40.03% higher than a conventional solar still (CSS) and 33.38%, 10.40%, and 30.64% higher than 5, 15, and 20 wt. % concentrations of nanoparticles at the same water depth, respectively. In addition, it was discovered that adding TWP to the solar still enhanced energy and exergy efficiency. Based on this research, it can be concluded that TWP is a suitable, inexpensive resource to boost energy and exergy efficiency and distillate output of solar still