Study on Menstrual Hygiene Management among Urban and Rural Adolescent Girls in Marathwada region of Maharashtra, India

Introduction: Adolescence is a significant period in the life of a woman. Menstruation is a naturally occurring physiological phenomenon in adolescent girls and premenopausal women. Menstrual hygiene and management is an insufficiently acknowledged issue and has not received adequate attention. The lack of menstrual hygiene among rural population is alarming, and there is a need for policy-making and awareness programs to be initiated. Aim: Hence the present study was aimed to compare the status of menstrual hygiene among rural and urban adolescent girls. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out among 250 adolescent girls (rural & urban), aged between 13 to 19 years residing the in field practice area of IIMSR Medical College, Badnapur, Jalna. Data was analyzed by using MS Excel 2010. Results: Out of 250 participants, 48.8% girls from rural area and 51.2% from urban area. The mean age of the menarche was 12.3 ± 1.4 and 12.34 ± 1.43 in rural and urban girls, respectively. Knowledge of menstruation prior to menarche was found to be less in rural girls compared with urban girls. Regarding menstrual hygiene practices during menstruation, out of the total girls residing in rural area 49.18% girl and out of the total girls residing in urban area 62.5% girls were using sanitary pads. Restriction during menstruation was observed more in rural girls than in urban areas. Conclusion: More awareness regarding menarche and menstruation was among urban girls than. Hygienic practices observed by girls were also more satisfactory in the urban area as compared with rural ones

The impact of social and family role stress on the achievement motivation of Indian teachers

For many students and teachers achievement motivation has become not just an essential part of vocational life but also infringing even on the quality of social, family and work life. Achievement motivation has been studied as one of the most positive aspect of students’ life while, occupational or role stress has been linked with individuals’ social, family and organizational sector. This study examines the impact of social and family stress on the achievement motivation of school and college teachers in Aligarh, India. Statistical analyses of questionnaire returns of 200 teachers reveal that the impact of social and family role stress was not significant on the achievement motivation of the subjects. This insignificant relationship may be attributed to the fact that Indian school as well as college teachers keep their social and family stress separate from their achievement motivation. This separation was made possible because the teachers were academically and professionally successful and this enabled them to distinguish between their personal and professional domains of life and not allowing any undue interference of outside events or happenings

Relationship between Perceived Parenting Styles of Mothers and Emotional Intelligence Among Undergraduate Students

The objective of the study was to find out relationship between perceived parenting styles of mothers and emotional intelligence among undergraduate students. Correlational research was selected as research design. The population of the study was undergraduate students of education department of public and private universities of Lahore. The total population was 1760. Proportionate stratified random sampling technique was used to select the sample. The strata were formed on the basis of nature of the university. The total number of students selected was 528. The instrument consisted of three parts; first part consisted of demographic information (gender, nature of institution, education of mother and working status of mother). The second part consisted of Parenting Authority Questionnaire (PAQ), designed by Buri (1991) which was used to measure parenting styles and the third part consisted of Emotional Intelligence questionnaire (EI) by Schutte (1998) which was used to measure emotional intelligence. Data was collected individually from participants through questionnaires by survey method. Both inferential and descriptive statistics were applied to analyze the data. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between the variables and Independent sample t-test was used to determine the difference between the demographic variables

Spiritual values and work-related wellbeing of Indian pharmaceutical scientists: An empirical investigation

The current research article aims to investigate spiritual values a predictor of the work-related well-being of pharmaceutical scientists in Indian Pharmaceutical companies. For the same, 150 scientists working in different pharmaceutical companies in India were asked to respond to questionnaires viz., the Spiritual Values Scale (SVS) - Husain, Zehra and Jahan (2013), and Index of Psychological Well-being at Work (IPWBW) - Sandilya and Shahnawaz (2018). The findings suggest spiritual values and its dimensions (values fostering high quality work, intrinsic qualities and natural qualities) as significant predictors of the work-related well-being as well as its facets (interpersonal fit at work, thriving at work, feeling of competency at work, perceived recognition at work and desire for involvement at work) of pharmacy scientists.  It was found that spiritual values and its dimensions had significant predictive influence on work-related well-being

Mechanistic insight into the synergistic antimicrobial potential of Fagonia indica Burm.f. extracts with cefixime

Fagonia indica Burm.f. is known for its anti-infective character and has been studied in the present work as a synergistic remedy against resistant bacterial strains. Initially, phytochemicals were quantified in n-Hexane (n-Hex), ethyl acetate (E.A), methanol (MeOH), and aqueous (Aq.) extracts by Total Phenolic Content (TPC), Total Flavonoid Content (TFC) and Reverse Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography (RP-HPLC) analysis. Later, after establishing an antibacterial resistance profile for extracts and antibiotics against gram-positive and gram-negative strains, synergism was evaluated in combination with cefixime through time-kill kinetics and bacterial protein estimation studies. Topographic images depicting synergism were obtained by scanning electron microscopy for Methicilin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Resistant Escherichia coli (R.E. coli). Results showed the presence of maximum phenolic (28.4 ± 0.67 μg GAE/mg extract) and flavonoid (11 ± 0.42 μg QE/mg extract) contents in MeOH extract. RP-HPLC results also displayed maximum polyphenols in MeOH extract followed by E.A extract. Clinical strains were resistant to cefixime whereas these were moderately inhibited by all extracts (MIC 150–300 µg/ml) except Aq. extract. E.A and n-Hex extracts demonstrated maximum synergism (Fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) 0.31) against R.E. coli. The n-Hex extract displayed total synergism against R.P. a with a 4-fold reduction in cefixime dose. Time-kill kinetics showed maximum inhibition of gram-negative bacterial growth from 3 to 12 h when treated at FICI and 2FICI values with > 10-fold reduction of the extracts’ dose. All combinations demonstrate > 70 % protein content inhibition with bacterial cell wall disruption in SEM images. Fortunately, FICI concentrations have low hemolytic potential (<5%). Conclusively, F. indica extracts can mitigate antimicrobial resistance against cefixime and can be investigated in detail by in vivo and mechanistic studies

Phytochemical profile, nutritional composition, and therapeutic potentials of chia seeds: A concise review

AbstractChia (Salvia hispanica) seeds are oilseeds, often known as pseudo-cereals, which contain a variety of nutrients, including macro and micronutrients, as well as health aids; consequently, they could be classified as a nutraceuticals food. The seeds are a wonderful source of phenolic compounds like rosmarinic acid, caffeic acid, protocatechuic acids, quercetin, and myricetin. According to studies, chia seeds have a high nutritious content of protein (18–24%), fiber (30–34%), and a variety of fatty acids. Chia seeds also have a variety of minerals and vitamins and shown to have beneficial effects in the treatment of hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidaemia, as well as acting as an antioxidant, anti-anxiety, laxative, anti-depressant, analgesic, and strengthen the immune system. Due to its presence of minerals, lipids (omega-3), fibers, proteins, and antioxidants in chia seed and its health benefits, it has now grabbed the attention of many food industries and educators. The present review article highlights the nutritional composition, phytochemical profile, and therapeutic potentials like cardio-protective, diabetes-controlling, immune boosting, and antioxidant action in detail

Effect of Sacubitril-Valsartan on Quality of Life, Functional and Exercise Capacity in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction (HFpEF): A Systematic Review of Randomized Clinical Trials

Background: Sacubitril/Valsartan use in heart failure has shown promising results in early trials. However, the effects on the overall functional capacity, exercise capacity, and quality of life are unknown. Aims: We aimed to understand the results of studies that attempted to measure these outcomes that affect the mobility and day-to-day life of these patients. Methods: MEDLINE, PubMed, PubMed Central (PMC), Google Scholar, ClinicalTrials.gov, and ISRCTN were explored to look for clinical trials relevant to the literature. Results: A total of three high-quality randomized controlled trials were discovered that evaluated the effect of sacubitril-valsartan on functional capacity, exercise capacity, or quality of life. All of them were industry-funded and revealed no statistical difference in the mentioned outcomes. No study measured peak oxygen uptake or ventilation/carbon dioxide ratio slope. Conclusion: Sacubitril-valsartan had minimal to no impact on functional capacity, exercise capacity, or quality of life. However, future prospective studies with more sensitive outcome measures should be conducted to validate the findings

An In Vitro Study of the Photodynamic Effectiveness of GO-Ag Nanocomposites against Human Breast Cancer Cells

Graphene-based materials have garnered significant attention because of their versatile bioapplications and extraordinary properties. Graphene oxide (GO) is an extremely oxidized form of graphene accompanied by the functional groups of oxygen on its surface. GO is an outstanding platform on which to pacify silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs), which gives rise to the graphene oxide-silver nanoparticle (GO-Ag) nanocomposite. In this experimental study, the toxicity of graphene oxide-silver (GO-Ag) nanocomposites was assessed in an in vitro human breast cancer model to optimize the parameters of photodynamic therapy. GO-Ag was prepared using the hydrothermal method, and characterization was done by X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-rays Analysis (EDAX), atomic force microscopy and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. The experiments were done both with laser exposure, as well as in darkness, to examine the phototoxicity and cytotoxicity of the nanocomposites. The cytotoxicity of the GO-Ag was confirmed via a methyl-thiazole-tetrazolium (MTT) assay and intracellular reactive oxygen species production analysis. The phototoxic effect explored the dose-dependent decrease in the cell viability, as well as provoked cell death via apoptosis. An enormously significant escalation of 1O2 in the samples when exposed to daylight was perceived. Statistical analysis was performed on the experimental results to confirm the worth and clarity of the results, with p-values &lt; 0.05 selected as significant. These outcomes suggest that GO-Ag nanocomposites could serve as potential candidates for targeted breast cancer therapy

Effect of Sacubitril-Valsartan on Quality of Life, Functional and Exercise Capacity in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction (HFpEF): A Systematic Review of Randomized Clinical Trials

Background: Sacubitril/Valsartan use in heart failure has shown promising results in early trials. However, the effects on the overall functional capacity, exercise capacity, and quality of life are unknown. Aims: We aimed to understand the results of studies that attempted to measure these outcomes that affect the mobility and day-to-day life of these patients. Methods: MEDLINE, PubMed, PubMed Central (PMC), Google Scholar, ClinicalTrials.gov, and ISRCTN were explored to look for clinical trials relevant to the literature. Results: A total of three high-quality randomized controlled trials were discovered that evaluated the effect of sacubitril-valsartan on functional capacity, exercise capacity, or quality of life. All of them were industry-funded and revealed no statistical difference in the mentioned outcomes. No study measured peak oxygen uptake or ventilation/carbon dioxide ratio slope. Conclusion: Sacubitril-valsartan had minimal to no impact on functional capacity, exercise capacity, or quality of life. However, future prospective studies with more sensitive outcome measures should be conducted to validate the findings

A facile green approach to the synthesis of Bi2WO6@V2O5 heterostructure and their photocatalytic activity evaluation under visible light irradiation for RhB dye removal

Bismuth tungsten oxide and vanadium pentoxide (Bi2WO6/V2O5) heterostructures are produced by a green synthesis approach using Azadirachta indica extract for photocatalytic performance. The hydrothermal method at temperatures between 120 °C and 140 °C is used to synthesize Bi2WO6. Bi2WO6 and V2O5 phases are formed in pure orthorhombic wells according to the XRD pattern. The SEM displays V2O5 nanorods, Bi2WO6 hierarchical microspheres that resemble flowers at 120 °C, and particles with a particle-like character at 140 °C. In V2O5, the asymmetric stretching vibrations of the triplely coordinated oxygen (chain oxygen) bonds and the vibration of the doubly coordinated oxygen (bridge oxygen) bonds are responsible for a peak at 611 cm−1. In FTIR spectra between 600 and 1600 cm−1, the major absorption bands in Bi2WO6 are attributed to the W-O stretching, Bi-O stretching, and W-O-W bridging stretching modes. Bi2WO6@V2O5 at 120 °C has the lowest bandgap energy (2.32 eV) and optical electronegativity (0.62), as well as the highest refractive index (2.57), extinction coefficient (2.21), and dielectric constant (εr = 0.72 and εi = 11.4) among all samples, making it a suitable material for photocatalysis. Rhodamine blue (RhB) dye degradation is used to measure the photocatalytic activity (PCA) of certain materials. The results showed that heterostructure V2O5@Bi2WO6 synthesized at 120 °C is more attractive among all samples due to high degradation of RhB dye under sunlight irradiation in 90 min