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While extensive research has explored the relationship between HRM and various organizational and employee outcomes, there remains a significant gap in the literature regarding the role of HRM in discouraging extreme work. To address this gap, building mainly on stakeholder theory, we specifically propose that HR managers' ethical leadership negatively influences precarious work, which serves as a catalyst for extreme work cultures by exacerbating workloads, prolonging working hours, and intensifying physical and mental stress. Importantly, we propose that sustainable HRM mediates the association between HR managers' ethical leadership and precarious work. Finally, the present study hypothesizes that HR managers' political skill acts as a boundary condition for the effects of HR managers' ethical leadership on sustainable HRM and precarious work. Data collected from two sources (260 employees and the same number of HR managers) employing a time-lagged design supported our hypotheses. Other than theoretical contributions to different important knowledge areas, such as ethical leadership, HRM, and precarious work, we offer a number of practical implications that could help organizations counter extreme work and its negative repercussions mainly for employees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current research reports the synthesis of a library of thiosemicarbazones (3-16) through a two-step chemical transformation. All the synthesized derivatives were purified and fully characterized through mass spectrometry, NMR spectroscopy (1H-, and 13C-NMR), and IR spectroscopy. All the members of the synthesized library were found to be new except compound 8. The synthesized library was screened for its inhibition potential against the urease enzyme. Almost all the compounds exhibited potent activity with the IC50 = 5.3 ± 0.8 − 15.5 ± 0.6 µM in comparison to the thiourea and acetohydroxamic acid used as standard (IC50 = 21.1 ± 0.2, 20.5 ± 0.4 µM). While significant activity was exhibited by compounds 14 and 15 with the IC50 = 23.6 ± 0.6 and 27.3 ± 1.2 µM. Furthermore, kinetic studies were carried out to determine the inhibition mode and molecular docking was employed to recognize the ligand-enzyme interactions. Thereby, the docking results are well in the direction of the in vitro results. Compounds ((E)-N-(2,5-dichlorophenyl)-2-(4-fluorobenzylidene)hydrazine-1-carbothioamide (3) and (E)-2-(2-chlorobenzylidene)-N-(2-fluorophenyl) hydrazinecarbothioamide (5) were identified as the most potent inhibitors of urease by both the in vitro and in silico studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geographic atrophy (GA) is an advanced form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and a leading cause of vision loss for which there are currently two FDA-approved treatments (pegcetacoplan and avacincaptad pegol). The complement system, a major effector arm of innate and adaptive immunity, has been implicated in the pathogenesis of GA. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the mechanisms underlying complement dysregulation in GA and the current therapeutic strategies to treat GA via targeting the complement system. This review covers the pathogenesis of GA with a focus on the role of the complement system, the mechanisms of complement dysregulation in GA, current therapeutic strategies targeting the complement system for GA, and ongoing clinical trials. We also discuss the challenges and future directions of complement-targeted therapy for GA. Despite the challenges, the complement system remains a promising target for developing novel therapeutics for GA and AMD. Further research is needed to optimize treatment strategies, identify predictive biomarkers, and understand the contributions of complement dysregulation to the pathological processes in GA and other retinal pathologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The genus Euphorbia is known to contain diterpenoids, and several isolated compounds which exhibited biological activities including significant multidrug resistance reversal effects. This work is focused on the isolation, in vitro and in silico studies of two natural bio-active flavonoids (1 & 2) isolated from Euphorbia pulcherrima bark for the very first time. Methods: The phytochemical investigation resulted in the identification of two flavonoids: 3,5,7-trihydroxy-2-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-6-methoxy-4H-chromen-4-one (1) and 2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-3,5,7-trihydroxy-6-methoxy-4H-chromen-4-one (2), which were isolated for the first time from Euphorbia pulcherrima. Results: The chemical structures of the two isolated compounds were confirmed by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and ESI-HRMS spectral data. The Bioactivity activity of these compounds was evaluated; results revealed that compounds 1 & 2 exhibit promising urease inhibitory potential with IC50 values of 15.3 ± 2.13 μM and 19.0 ± 2.43 μM, respectively, whereas the positive control thiourea had an IC50 of 21.0 ± 0.23 μM. Similarly, these compounds were also evaluated against the tyrosinase enzyme; results showed that compound 1 displays significant inhibitory activity with an IC50 value of 48.7 ± 2.19 μM, whereas compound 2 exhibited a moderate effect with an IC50 value of 74.8 ± 1.79 μM, when compared with the standard (alpha-kojic acid, IC50 = 47.6 ± 0.67 μM). Additionally, compounds 1 and 2 also exhibited anti-glycation and phosphodiesterase inhibitory activities. Conclusion: Studies dealing with the drug like properties such as in silico screening (docking study) was also carried out to discover the structural features of both compounds 1 and 2. Results indicated that the docking scores of compounds 1 and 2 are in agreement with their IC50 values. Isolation and characterization of two bioactive flavonoids (1 and 2) from Euphorbia pulcherrima. In silico and in vitro enzyme inhibition studies were conducted to identify the therapeutic potential of flavonoids 1 and 2. Drug-like properties were calculated to discover important pharmacophoric features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phytochemical studies of methanol soluble fractions of Abrus precatorius Linn (Fabaceae) led to the isolation of four abruquinones (abruquinones M, A, E, and B). Structures of the compounds were elucidated using spectroscopic analyses - 1D, 2D NMR, HRESI-MS. Evaluation of the therapeutic effects of A. precatorius fractions showed significant (p < 0.05) antibacterial and antiurease activities. Further therapeutic evaluation of the compounds showed that abruquinones M, A, E, and B demonstrated antibacterial activities by inhibiting significantly (p < 0.05) the growth of multidrug resistant S. aureus (MIC values ranged from 20 - 30 μg/mL) (µM) via induction of morphological damages with concomitant membrane segmentation. Abruquinones A and B showed significant (p < 0.05) urease inhibiting activity (IC50 values 35.2 and 37.7 µM, respectively), docked tightly to the side chains of urease enzyme active site via π-cation interactions, as well as showed cytotoxicity against AU565 and MDA-MB231 breast cancer cells (IC50 values 23.13 and 9.05 μM, respectively). These findings suggest abruquinones (isoflavanquinones) from A. precatorius roots as viable candidates for further mechanistic studies on possible antibacterial, antiurease, and anticancer drug development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drug-loaded nanoparticles (NPs) allow specific accumulation and controlled release of drugs to infected tissues with minimal cytotoxicity. In this study, gemifloxacin conjugated silver nanoparticles (Gemi-AgNPs) were synthesized, and the amplification of their antibacterial potential against the human pathogen as well as their stability was monitored under physiological conditions. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis demonstrated the interaction between –NH2 and –OH functional moiety and the metal surface. The morphological analyses via transmission electron microscopy revealed that Gemi-AgNPs has a round oval shape and average particle size of 22.23 ± 2 nm. The antibacterial and antibiofilm activities of these NPS showed that Gemi-AgNPs exhibit excellent antimicrobial and biofilm inhibition activity against human pathogens, namely, Proteus mirabilis (P. mirabilis) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). A significant increase in the antibiofilm activity of Gemi-AgNPs was confirmed by crystal violet, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) staining, and microscopic analysis. Gemi-AgNPs exhibited the ability to inhibit urease with an IC50 value of 57.4 ± 0.72 µg/mL. The changes in the bacterial cell morphology were analyzed via TEM, which revealed that cell membranes disrupted and completely destroyed the cell morphology by the treatment of Gemi-AgNPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study aims at exploring enzyme inhibition of four species of medicinal herbs, namely Senna bicapsularis, Thevetia peruviana, Nerium oleander and Vinca major. Plant selection was done on the basis of their therapeutic uses by local practitioners. The crude methanolic extracts of these plants were tested for their α-glycosidase and urease enzyme inhibition potential. The observed urease inhibitory potential for the crude extract of S. bicapsularis, T. peruviana and N. oleander were 8.3 ± 0.33 μg, 6.98 ± 0.98 μg and 9.56 ± 1.43 μg, respectively while the V. major did not show any inhibition. In addition, the IC50 value for Thiourea was 22.3 ± 1.14 μg. The crude extracts of S. bicapsularis, T. peruviana, N. oleander, V. major were shown to inhibit α-glycosidase activity with an IC50 value of 630.3 ± 0.03 μg, 700.7 ± 2.43 μg, 430.4 ± 3.97 μg, and the standard (acarbose) 880 ± 1.03 μM, respectively. Based on the TLC profile, the extract of S. bicapsularis was subjected to column chromatography and the major component named rhein (1) was identified. Compound 1 exhibited excellent urease and α-glycosidase inhibitory activity with an IC50 value of 7.4 ± 0.32 and 622.3 ± 1.03 μM, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current non-systematic narrative review of literature sought to explore the need for research into child sexual abuse (CSA) in Pakistan's schools. The limited literature that exists suggests that CSA is a pervasive problem in Pakistan as it is in neighboring India, and indeed, throughout the world. Government agencies and schools in Pakistan appear to be in their infancy in terms of recognizing and responding to CSA. High-profile media cases, however, have led to some promising child safety changes. The current narrative review identified the need for studies with methodological rigor to identify the nature and extent of children who have experienced CSA in Pakistan. Future studies also need to explore how best to conceptualize school-based abuse prevention in Pakistan. Recommendations are made for practice and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current investigation, the chemical composition of the essential oils (EOs) from the stem and leaves of Acridocarpus orientalis A. Juss. were evaluated by gas chromatography (GC) and gas-chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The main volatile constituents identified in the essential oil of stem were rich in methyl 8-pimaren-18-oate (43.8 %), octacosane (5.8 %), heptacosane (4.6 %) and hexacosane (4.1 %), methyl dehydroabietate (3.9 %) and methyl pimar-8(14)-en-18-oate (3.6 %), while tetracosane (16.6 %), heptacosane (16.4 %), docosane (13.9 %), hentriacontane (13.5 %), heneicosane (10.9 %) and α-pinene (7.7 %) were abundant in the EO of leaves. Both essential oils, screened against urease, α-glucosidase and carbonic anhydrase II (CA-II) enzyme inhibitory activities, were found active against CA-II and inactive against urease and α-glucosidase enzymes. The leaves of AO were found more active only against CA-II enzyme having IC50 values of 45.6 ± 1.0 μg/mL than stem (156.3 ± 1.5 μg/mL). The results determined that the EO of leaves could be a promising target for anti-cancer treatment. This is the first report, up to the best of the author's knowledge, on the chemical composition and CA-II activity of this essential oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizational justice is found to act as an impetus that eventually triggers certain behaviors. As such, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship among dimensions of distributive, procedural, interpersonal, and informational organizational justice with "instigated workplace incivility" (equity perspective) in the tourism industry. The study also considered the interactive roles of Islamic work ethics (IWE) and trust in the leader (TIL). Data were collected from the employees working in different hotels (n = 363). Three dimensions of organizational justice had a statistically significant impact on IWI, while informational justice had an insignificant effect. Results also revealed that IWE and TIL do affect the hypothesized relationships. The study is a step toward understanding the importance of organizational justice in the tourism industry which can apply across transnational boundaries in the Islamic nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To stipulate the rationale of spraying doses and to determine the safe interval period of boscalid suspension concentrate (SC), the degradation dynamics and residual levels were investigated in cucumber and soil using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Field trials were conducted according to Chinese Guideline on pesticide residue trials. Following application, the degradation kinetics was best ascribed to first-order kinetic models with half-life of 2.67–9.90 d in cucumber. Spraying boscalid SC at 1.5-fold the recommended dosage yield terminal residues, which are clearly lower than the maximum residue limit (MRL) established by China (MRL =5 mg.kg−1) in cucumber. At variance, the dissipation dynamics in soil did not fit to first-order kinetics and the half-life was more than 17 days, the finding which denotes that the degradation behavior of boscalid in soil proceeds slowly. It has therefore been shown that boscalid is safe for use on cucumbers under the recommended dosage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) is an aerobic gram-negative, non-spore forming, rod-shaped bacterium. It accelerates the decline in lung function and ultimately leads to increased mortality and morbidity rate. Survival and virulence of P. aeruginosa is due to its biofilm formation ability. The main aim of this study was to test the synergistic effect of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in combination with Polymyxin B against biofilms of P. aeruginosa. A total of 500 pus aspirations were collected and bacterial pathogens were identified. Biofilm formation was attained using a glass tube method and microtiter plate assay. The minimum inhibitory concentration of Polymyxin B was determined using agar well diffusion method. Silver nanoparticles were synthesized by chemical reduction method followed by determination of their anti-pseudomonal ability separately and in combination with Polymyxin B using microtiter plate assay. Our results showed that 120 out of 500 samples were Pseudomonas positive. The ratio of multidrug-resistant (MDR) in our collected Pseudomonas samples was 83% (25/30). Generally, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of Polymyxin B was 16 µg/mL and that of AgNPs was null. However, AgNPs showed great synergistic effect in combination with Polymyxin B. Synergistically, the efficacy of Polymyxin B was enhanced four times as compared to unaided Polymyxin B. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThe exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) charts are widely used memory-type charts for monitoring small to moderate shifts in process parameters. However, the performance of the EWMA chart has been improved over time due to various modifications and enhancements. This paper proposes two modified EWMA (M‐EWMA) charts to monitor process dispersion. The upper-sided modified EWMA chart is denoted by M‐EWMAU, while a lower-sided modified EWMA chart is symbolized as the M‐EWMAL chart. Monte Carlo simulations determine the proposed schemes’ run length (RL) properties in zero- and steady-state scenarios. The proposed upper- and lower-sided M‐EWMA charts are compared to the upper- and lower-sided CH‐EWMA and SJ-EWMA charts. The comparisons reveal that the proposed M-EWMA charts have better detection ability than the upper- and lower-sided CH-EWMA, and SJ-EWMA charts, respectively. Finally, a real-life application is provided to illustrate the implementation of the upper-sided M-EWMA and CH-EWMA charts practically in both zero-state and steady-state cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher education institutions must prepare students for success in the dynamic knowledge economy by providing a high-quality educational experience. As the world and our understanding of learning processes continually evolve, educators face the challenge of developing innovative strategies to engage and motivate students in their own learning. Scholarly literature advocates a shift away from traditional educational methods towards personalised, collaborative, and contextualised education. This transformation can be understood through the lens of Dilemma Theory, which reveals that current educational approaches predominantly align with Western cultural values. The suppression of opposing values has created a need for approaches that reflect a broader spectrum of values. It is important to recognise that navigating value conflicts is integral to creative endeavours and resolving these conflicts enables progress towards successful outcomes. This article is written to help educational leaders, policy makers, teachers, and administrators seeking successful and sustainable educational change in their institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study was designed to evaluate the urease inhibitory profile of extract and fractions ofPistacia atlanticassp. cabulica Stocks followed by bioactivity-guided isolated compounds. The crude extract was found significantly active with urease inhibitor (95.40% at 0.2 mg/mL) with IC50values of 32.0 ± 0.28 μg/mL. Upon fractionation, ethyl acetate fraction displayed 100% urease inhibition with IC50values of 19.9 ± 0.51 μg/mL at 0.2 mg/mL. However,n-hexane and chloroform fractions exhibited insignificant urease inhibition. Similarly, the isolated compound, transilitin (1) and dihydro luteolin (2) demonstrated marked urease attenuation with 95 and 98% respectively, at 0.15 mg/mL. Both the isolated compounds showed marked potency with IC50values of 8.54 ± 0.54 and 9.58 ± 2.22 μg/mL, respectively. In short, both the extract and fractions and isolated compounds showed marked urease inhibition and thus a useful natural source of urease inhibition. Graphical abstract showing the imagePistacia atlantica, chemical structure of isolated compounds and urease enzyme. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]