In Vitro Analysis of Antioxidant Activities of Oxalis Corniculata Linn. Fractions in Various Solvents

As part of our search for natural antioxidants, this work presents an evaluation of antioxidant activities of methanolic extract of Oxalis corniculata and its sub-fractions in hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, n-butanol and water. The total phenolic contents in terms of μg of gallic acid equivalents per mg of dried mass were approximately 21.0, 28.2, 34.5, 162.0, 70.0, and 49.2 in methanolic, hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, n-butanolic and aqueous fractions respectively, while the flavonoid contents in these solvents were 362.4, 214.1, 317.1, 177.1, 98.8 and 53.5 respectively in terms of μg of rutin per mg of dried mass. In DPPH assay, the ethyl acetate fraction showed the highest free radical scavenging activity, 24.0% with 1 mg/mL concentration. The second strongest fraction was chloroform (21.5%). The EC50 and TEC50 values of the methanolic extract were 3.63 mg/mL and 23 min respectively. The FRAP values in terms of μg of ascorbic acid equivalents per mg of dried mass for these solvents were 288.0, 1705.3, 437.1, 72.0, 28.0, and 44.0 respectively while total antioxidant activity measured by phosphomolybdate assay in terms of μg of ascorbic acid equivalents per mg of dried mass were 50.0, 117.0, 78.6, 57.8, 3.4 and 8.3 respectively. All the samples showed remarkable ability to inhibit lipid peroxidation exhibiting much better and sustainable peroxidation inhibitory activity than the standard butylated hydroxyanisole

Seasonal variation of phenolics, flavonoids, antioxidant and lipid peroxidation inhibitory activity of methanolic extract of Melilotus indicus and its sub-fractions in different solvents

In the present work, seasonal variations of total phenolic and flavonoid contents, antioxidant activity and lipid peroxidation inhibitory activities of methanolic extract of Melilotus indicus and its sub-fractions in different solvents have been evaluated. The study was conducted on plant samples collected in February and April which are its flowering and fruiting seasons respectively. Both phenolic and flavonoid contents were higher in methanolic extract of the plant collected in April than in February. Free radical scavenging activity measured through DPPH method was low in methanolic extracts of both the samples, although it decreased as we go from February to April. Ethyl acetate fractions showed highest % inhibition. Total antioxidant activity of methanolic extracts measured through phosphomolybdate assay remained almost same. Chloroform fraction showed the highest value in both the seasons with value in April higher than in February, 57.24 and 46.44 µg of ascorbic acid equivalents per mg of the dried mass, respectively.  The methanolic extract of April sample showed higher FRAP (ferric reducing antioxidant power) value than that of February. In February, ethyl acetate fraction showed highest FRAP value, while in April, chloroform exhibited the highest value. Methanolic extracts and fractions in all solvents showed remarkable ability to inhibit peroxidation in linoleic acid. After 72 hours, all samples were much more effective than the standard BHA. Seasonal variations affect biosynthesis of different types of antioxidant and free radical scavenging compounds in Melilotus indicus. Thus, the medicinal and nutritional value of the plant will depend on harvesting season

CDC Engagement with The Global Fund: Current Approaches and Opportunities for Enhanced Collaboration

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is one of the U.S. government’s (USG) largest public health agencies and leading implementers of global health programs. Primarily a domestic agency, CDC has expanded its global health work dramatically over the last 15 years via the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), and global tuberculosis control efforts, as well as through the Global Health Security Agenda and international Ebola response. To maximize the use of these resources and leverage funding from other partners, CDC has sought to increase collaboration with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria (GF). Created in 2002, GF is a multilateral partnership that raises money from governments, the private sector, and civil society to combat these three major infectious diseases. Together, the USG (including CDC) and GF control 27% of all global health funds, over $9 billion annually, and jointly work in 63 countries. Given the significant funding being invested by both entities, maximizing programmatic and financial synergy is imperative for sustaining the public health gains supported by these organizations. However, little is currently understood about how CDC staff engage with GF and opportunities for improvement. The primary, overarching research question of this study was how can CDC improve collaboration with GF at headquarters and country levels in order to increase the impact of health investments by both entities. This analysis utilized both quantitative and qualitative data collected from CDC staff in two stages to broadly assess current CDC engagement with GF at various levels. The study found that there is a high degree of interest among CDC staff in GF and that engagement with GF is considered very important to their work, but that they were not necessarily maximally effective in their collaboration. CDC staff face multiple challenges regarding GF, including low levels of self-reported knowledge, lack of training, unclear support and communication systems, and deficiency in dedicated staff or time for engagement. There is a desire for more strategic direction, training, and prioritization of GF collaboration, particularly among country-based staff.Doctor of Public Healt

Mobility Support 5G Architecture with Real-Time Routing for Sustainable Smart Cities

[EN] The Internet of Things (IoT) is an emerging technology and provides connectivity among physical objects with the support of 5G communication. In recent decades, there have been a lot of applications based on IoT technology for the sustainability of smart cities, such as farming, e-healthcare, education, smart homes, weather monitoring, etc. These applications communicate in a collaborative manner between embedded IoT devices and systematize daily routine tasks. In the literature, many solutions facilitate remote users to gather the observed data by accessing the stored information on the cloud network and lead to smart systems. However, most of the solutions raise significant research challenges regarding information sharing in mobile IoT networks and must be able to stabilize the performance of smart operations in terms of security and intelligence. Many solutions are based on 5G communication to support high user mobility and increase the connectivity among a huge number of IoT devices. However, such approaches lack user and data privacy against anonymous threats and incur resource costs. In this paper, we present a mobility support 5G architecture with real-time routing for sustainable smart cities that aims to decrease the loss of data against network disconnectivity and increase the reliability for 5G-based public healthcare networks. The proposed architecture firstly establishes a mutual relationship among the nodes and mobile sink with shared secret information and lightweight processing. Secondly, multi-secured levels are proposed to protect the interaction with smart transmission systems by increasing the trust threshold over the insecure channels. The conducted experiments are analyzed, and it is concluded that their performance significantly increases the information sustainability for mobile networks in terms of security and routing.Rehman, A.; Haseeb, K.; Saba, T.; Lloret, J.; Ahmed, Z. (2021). Mobility Support 5G Architecture with Real-Time Routing for Sustainable Smart Cities. Sustainability. 13(16):1-16. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13169092S116131

Association of anti C1q and ds-DNA levels with the pathogenesis of Lupus Nephritis among SLE patients

Background: Lupus nephritis (LN) is the most common and serious complication associated with SLE and it results in significant morbidity and mortality. It is known by several studies that patients of LN have higher levels of anti-dsDNA and anti-C1q compared with SLE patients without renal involvement. The current study was designed to determine and compare the level of anti-dsDNA and anti-C1q in patients of SLE with and without lupus nephritis in the Pakistani population. This current study was also aimed at providing proof that anti-C1q levels are more prominent in LN/non-LN SLE as compared to anti-dsDNA. This project may help in the determination of results in Pakistan and contribute to the further confirmation of the sensitivity of anti-C1q.Method: The patient samples were collected from Sheikh Zayed hospital, Lahore. These patients were clinically diagnosed by the Rheumatologists as SLE and LN positive on the basis of ACR and SLEDAI scoring criteria. This study was performed and samples were analyzed in the Department of Medical and Laboratory Sciences, Imperial College of Business Study, Lahore on the patient’s serum by ELISA technique.Result: About 38% (12) patients with LN were positive for anti-dsDNA and 31% (9) SLE patients without LN were positive whereas about 38.7% (12) were anti-dsDNA negative in LN cases and 58.6% (17) in SLE without LN. In case of anti-C1q 100% (31) of these LN patients were positive and 93.1% (27) patients SLE without LN showed positive anti C1q results. Only 6.9% (2) patients showed negative results for anti-C1q in LN negative patientsConclusion: The higher levels of anti-C1q suggest that it may be a better diagnostic marker for LN than that of anti-dsDNA and that it can be helpful in the prognosis of SLE patients

Interleukin-18 polymorphism as an inflammatory index in metabolic syndrome: A preliminary study

Aim: To assess circulatory levels of interleukin-18 (IL-18) and determine whether the presence of IL-18 promoter polymorphism influences metabolic syndrome phenotypes.Methods: This study recruited one hundred and eighty individuals divided into three groups with sixty subjects each as: Normal weight (18.0-22.9 kg/m2), overweight (23.0-25.9 kg/m2) and obese (\u3e 26.0 kg/m2) according to South Asian criteria of BMI. Fasting blood glucose (FBG), Lipid profile, insulin, IL-18 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)alpha were measured using ELISA kits, whereas low density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and insulin sensitivity (QUICKI) were calculated. The body fat percentage (BF) was measured through bioelectrical impedance analysis; waist and hip circumference were measured. Genotyping of IL-18 -607 C/A polymorphism was performed by using tetra-primer amplification refractory mutation system. Student t test, One-way analysis of variance, Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, Pearson\u27s chi2 test and Pearson\u27s correlation were used, where a P value \u3c 0.05 was considered significant.Results: In an aged matched study, obese subjects showed higher levels of FBG, cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL levels as compared to normal weight (P\u3c 0.001). Highest levels of IL-18 and TNF levels were also seen in obese subjects (IL-18: 58.87 ± 8.59 ng/L) (TNF: 4581.93 ± 2132.05 pg/mL). The percentage of IL-18 -607 A/A polymorphism was higher in overweight and obese subjects vs normal weight subjects (P\u3c 0.001). Moreover, subjects with AA genotype had a higher BF, insulin resistance, TNFalpha and IL-18 levels when compared with subjects with AC (heterozygous) or CC (wild type) genotypes. However, we did not find any difference in the lipid profile between three subgroups.Conclusion: This preliminary data suggests that IL-18 polymorphism affects IL-18 levels that might cause low grade inflammation, further exacerbated by increased TNFalpha. All these increase the susceptibility to develop MetS. Further studies are required to validate our findings

CLASSIC MAPLE SYRUP URINE DISEASE IN A 46-DAY-OLD BABY: A CASE REPORT

Maple syrup urine disease (MSUD) is an inborn error of amino acid metabolism secondary to enzyme defect that breaks down branched-chain amino acid (BCAA). Accumulation of these amino acids and their corresponding ketoacids in the body progresses to neurodegenerative disorders and encephalopathy in undiagnosed infants. We report a case of 46 days old baby with classical clinical and biochemical findings consistent with MSUD. Baby was investigated for inborn error of metabolism after he developed lethargy and his oral intake reduced on fifth day of life. A diagnosis of MSUD was established after analysis of plasma and CSF amino acid profile. Baby was treated accordingly and improvement in his condition was seen afterwards

Multiple Sclerosis Care in Pakistan; Analysis Of Data Presented At First Paktrims Conference

Novel data on Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in Pakistan from leading institutes in the country was presented at the first Pakistan Treatment in Multiple Sclerosis (PAKTRIMS) Conference, organized by the section of Neurology, department of Medicine, Aga Khan University, Karachi on Saturday, December 18, 2021. Pakistan has been considered to have a low prevalence of MS; however, recent research reveals that it is not as uncommon as previously believed to be in the country. The true prevalence and incidence of MS in the country is unknown because of dearth of research. Data of MS patients enrolled in various private and public institutes in Pakistan highlights the current treatment offered in Pakistan for MS patients with steroids as the mainstay treatment and disease modifying therapy (DMT) mainly including azathioprine, ocrelizumab and rituximab. Available data featuring disease progression indicates a successful response to the treatment offered to patients with improved expanded disability status scale (EDSS) and radiological findings. The conference was a stepping stone towards future research in Pakistan as it has highlighted further requirements in the field of MS as far as our country is concerned. Available data majorly outlines demographic and disease characteristics, however, there is a need for research to fill in the gap for data in reporting MS diagnosis, treatment, and disease outcome to develop a better healthcare system geared towards MS patients in a low- and middle-income Country (LMIC)

Corrigendum: Reprogramming the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment: exploiting angiogenesis and thrombosis to enhance immunotherapy

This review focuses on the immunosuppressive effects of tumor angiogenesis and coagulation on the tumor microenvironment (TME). We summarize previous research efforts leveraging these observations and targeting these processes to enhance immunotherapy outcomes. Clinical trials have documented improved outcomes when combining anti-angiogenic agents and immunotherapy. However, their overall survival benefit over conventional therapy remains limited and certain tumors exhibit poor response to anti-angiogenic therapy. Additionally, whilst preclinical studies have shown several components of the tumor coagulome to curb effective anti-tumor immune responses, the clinical studies reporting combinations of anticoagulants with immunotherapies have demonstrated variable treatment outcomes. By reviewing the current state of the literature on this topic, we address the key questions and future directions in the field, the answers of which are crucial for developing effective strategies to reprogram the TME in order to further the field of cancer immunotherapy