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Diabetic ketoacidosis is the complicationof Diabetes mellitus, which can result due to extreme hyperglycemia and ketonaemia. This condition is prevalent among patients with untreated diabetes ordrug incompliance. Hyperglycemic hyperosmolar state can clinically be presented with episodes of seizures with high blood sugar levels and absence of ketones and has low incidence rate. A 55 year old male patient presented with episode of seizure, frothing, tongue bite, uprolling of eyes, shortness of breath, pedal edema and high blood sugar levels. Past medical history includes known hypertensive and diabetic since 10 years and is oninj regular insulin with non-adherence to medication. Lab investigations were performed and patient was diagnosed as hyperglycemic diabetic ketoacidosis secondary to drug incompliance. The patient was managed by insulin regimen- regular and basal insulin, antibiotics, antiepileptic drugs and by continuous monitoring of blood sugar levels every 3rd hourly. Diabetic ketoacidosis was recovered and later, there were no episodes of seizures. Creating awareness and proper patient education regarding the disease state, pharmacotherapy and drug compliance plays a vital role in managing the condition and as well as by preventing further complications that might be fatal in some cases.

Microbial resistance has progressed rapidly and is becoming the leading cause of death globally. The spread of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms has been a significant threat to the successful therapy against microbial infections. Scientists have become more concerned about the possibility of a return to the pre-antibiotic era. Thus, searching for alternatives to fight microorganisms has become a necessity. Some bacteria are naturally resistant to antibiotics, while others acquire resistance mainly by the misuse of antibiotics and the emergence of new resistant variants through mutation. Since ancient times, plants represent the leading source of drugs and alternative medicine for fighting against diseases. Plants are rich sources of valuable secondary metabolites, such as alkaloids, quinones, tannins, terpenoids, flavonoids, and polyphenols. Many studies focus on plant secondary metabolites as a potential source for antibiotic discovery. They have the required structural properties and can act by different mechanisms. This review analyses the antibiotic resistance strategies produced by multidrug-resistant bacteria and explores the phytochemicals from different classes with documented antimicrobial action against resistant bacteria, either alone or in combination with traditional antibiotics.

Corona virus SARS-CoV-2-induced viral disease (COVID-19) is a zoonotic disease that was initially transmitted from animals to humans. The virus surfaced towards the end of December 2019 in Wuhan, China where earlier SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) had also surfaced in 2003. Unlike SARS, SARS-CoV-2 (a close relative of the SARS virus) created a pandemic, and as of February 24 2021, caused 112,778,672 infections and 2,499,252 deaths world-wide. Despite the best efforts of scientists, no drugs against COVID-19 are yet in sight; five vaccines have received emergency approval in various countries, but it would be a difficult task to vaccinate twice the world population of 8 billion. The objective of the present study was to evaluate through in silico screening a number of phytochemicals in Allium cepa (onion) regarding their ability to bind to the main protease of COVID-19 known as the 3C-like protease or 3CLpro, (PDB ID: 6LU7), 3CLpro of SARS (PDB ID: 3M3V), and human angiotensin converting enzyme-2 (ACE-2), [PDB ID: 1R42], which functions as a receptor for entry of the virus into humans. Molecular docking (blind docking, that is docking not only against any target pocket) were done with the help of AutoDockVina. It was observed that of the twenty-two phytochemicals screened, twelve showed good binding affinities to the main protease of SARS-CoV-2. Surprisingly, the compounds also demonstrated good binding affinities to ACE-2. It is therefore very likely that the binding affinities shown by these compounds against both 3CLpro and ACE-2 merit further study for their potential use as therapeutic agents.

Background: We need drugs to decrease inflammation as well as have very less side effects. Review of literature mentioned anti-inflammatory action of Omega 3 fatty acids. Hence, we selected this drug. Aim: Our aim was to find the anti-inflammatory effect of Omega 3 fatty acid using animal model. Study Design: The study is objective animal study where measurement of inflammation was done by observational methodology, for the present study four groups were made- 6 Guinea pigs in each group. Control guinea pigs were fed distilled water, second group standard drug indomethacin 4mg/ kg body wt, test group 1 received 1200mg/kg body wt, test group II received 2400mg/kg body wt of Omega 3 fatty acid. All drugs given orally 30 minutes before exposure to UV radiation of 30 seconds duration was given and inflammation was observed at 6, 12 and 24 hrs after UV exposure in the form of scoring. Statistical significance was calculated using Anova method. For statistical analysis we have used SPSS system version 20. Results: Inflammation was observed in all the four groups of Guinea pigs, there was significant antiinflammatory effect of omega 3 fatty acid in the dose of 1200mg/kg body wt and 2400mg/kg body wt at 12 and 24 hours. Conclusions: Omega 3 fatty acids 1200mg/kg body wt orally produced significant anti-inflammatory effect against UV radiation induced inflammation in Guinea pigs at 12 and 24 hrs. However, standard drug could produce significant anti-inflammatory effect only at 24 hrs in comparison to control group. The anti-inflammatory effects of test 1, test 2 groups and standard group are comparable. Keywords: Inflammation, Omega 3 fatty acid, UV radiation.

A Laplacian scoring algorithm for gene selection and the Gini coefficient to identify the genes whose expression varied least across a large set of samples were the state-of-the-art methods used here. These methods have not been trialed for their feasibility in cheminformatics. This was a maiden attempt to investigate a complete comparative analysis of an anthraquinone and chalcone derivatives-based virtual combinatorial library. This computational "proof-of-concept" study illustrated the combinatorial approach used to explain how the structure of the selected natural products (NPs) undergoes molecular diversity analysis. A virtual combinatorial library (1.6 M) based on 20 anthraquinones and 24 chalcones was enumerated. The resulting compounds were optimized to the near drug-likeness properties, and the physicochemical descriptors were calculated for all datasets including FDA, Non-FDA, and NPs from ZINC 15. UMAP and PCA were applied to compare and represent the chemical space coverage of each dataset. Subsequently, the Laplacian score and Gini coefficient were applied to delineate feature selection and selectivity among properties, respectively. Finally, we demonstrated the diversity between the datasets by employing Murcko's and the central scaffolds systems, calculating three fingerprint descriptors and analyzing their diversity by PCA and SOM. The optimized enumeration resulted in 1,610,268 compounds with NP-Likeness, and synthetic feasibility mean scores close to FDA, Non-FDA, and NPs datasets. The overlap between the chemical space of the 1.6 M database was more prominent than with the NPs dataset. A Laplacian score prioritized NP-likeness and hydrogen bond acceptor properties (1.0 and 0.923), respectively, while the Gini coefficient showed that all properties have selective effects on datasets (0.81-0.93). Scaffold and fingerprint diversity indicated that the descending order for the tested datasets was FDA, Non-FDA, NPs and 1.6 M. Virtual combinatorial libraries based on NPs can be considered as a source of the combinatorial compound with NP-likeness properties. Furthermore, measuring molecular diversity is supposed to be performed by different methods to allow for comparison and better judgment.

Hypertensive disorders complicating pregnancy is the one of the most common medical problem of pregnancy. Worldwide, hypertensive disorders in pregnancy causes complication in about 10 -16% of pregnancies. High blood pressure in pregnant women is related with incidence of large placental infarct and decreased placental growth resulting in intra uterine fetal growth restriction and intrauterine death. Hypertension in pregnancy is diagnosed when blood pressure is 140/90 mm of hg or greater with proteinuria and edema after 20 week of gestation. Plasma lipid and lipoprotein (a) undergo both qualitative and quantitative changes during pregnancy. During the course of normal pregnancy, plasma triglycerides and cholesterol concentration rises by 200-400% and 25-50% respectively. An abnormal lipid profile is known to be strongly associated with atherosclerotic changes and has direct effect on endothelial dysfunction. In preeclampsia women, thromboxane rise more than in normotensive pregnant women. Increased lipid synthesis causes increase in PGI2:TXA2 ratio and plays a role in pathogenesis of pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH), hence the hyperlipidemia may be an important marker of toxemia of pregnancy.To asses and compare the serum levels of lipid and lipoprotein (a) in pregnant women with PIH and normotensive pregnant women.A study conducted on total of 100 pregnant patients (50 cases and 50 controls) selected according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. 3ml of venous blood was drawn to estimate the Serum Cholesterol, Serum Triglycerides, Serum HDL, Serum LDL, Serum VLDL, Serum Lipoprotein (a) levels in each subject. The data was analyzed results were expressed as Mean and standard deviation of various parameters in different group. P value < 0.05 is considered as significant. ROC curve analysis was done to assess maximum sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic efficiencyIn our study the mean ±SD values of total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL, VLDL, Serum Lipoprotein (a) are statistically significant higher in PIH cases whereas HDL levels are low in cases when compared to controls.A high lipid profile levels is observed to be associate with preeclampsia thus, serum lipid concentration and serum Lipoprotein (a) levels may provide a useful marker for screening patients at risk for developing PIH.

The novel coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2 and the virus-induced disease COVID-19 has caused widespread concerns due to its contagiousness, fatality rate, and the absence of drug(s). This study investigated Lens culinaris and its phytochemicals, especially the flavonoids. The compounds were assessed through molecular docking studies for their binding abilities with the major protease of the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 (PDB: 6LU7). A total of 42 phytochemicals of Lens culinaris were analyzed through molecular docking studies for their binding affinities to COVID 3C-like protease. Of them, 23 compounds were found to have binding affinities to the protease of −7.5 kcal/mol or higher. Our study indicates that Lens culinaris contains a number of polyphenolic compounds as well as phytosterols, which can bind to the active site of the protease, and so merits further scientific attention on trials for use as potential anti-COVID-19 drugs.

Background: The present study was conducted to determine Transverse diameter (inter-pedicular distances) of the lumbar spinal canal measured in plain antero-posterior radiograph of 140 subjects (80 males, 60 females) aged between 20 to 60 years in population of Telangana. Subjects and Methods : The present study was conducted in the department of Anatomy, in a teaching medical college and hospital in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It comprised of antero-posterior plain radiographs of lumbar spine of 140 subjects, aged between 20 to 60 years. Transverse diameter of the lumbar spinal canal or inter-pedicular distances (IPD), and transverse diameter of the vertebral body was measured using electronic Digital Vernier calipers, and the ratio between transverse diameter of vertebral canal and transverse diameter of the corresponding vertebral body were analyzed. Results: Out of 140 patients, males were 80 and females were 60. The mean inter-pedicular distance (IPD) at L1 was 24.2 mm in males and 23.4 mm in females, and at L5 was 30.2 mm in males and 29.6 mm in females. Mean transverse diameter of lumbar vertebral canal (I.P.D) is minimum at L1 vertebra in both sexes. The maximum values of I.P.D were recorded for vertebra L5 for both sexes. The values of IPD are higher in male population in comparison to female counterparts. The mean width of the vertebral body is gradually increasing from L1 to L5. Ratio between transverse diameter of vertebral canal and transverse diameter of the corresponding vertebral body is seen to be constant (0.6) at all lumbar level in both the sexes. Conclusion: Authors found that there is variation in the size of the lumbar vertebral canal between males and females. Even after the revolution of various imaging techniques like CT Scan, MRI, etc., the plain radiography remains the mainstay of investigative procedure particularly in rural setup.

Background: The present study was conducted to assess the association of morphometry of the placenta and birth weight of fetus in hypertensive mothers. Subjects and Methods: The present study was conducted on 74 pregnant women with an uncomplicated pregnancy and those with pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH). The following morphometric parameters of each placenta were recorded: weight, volume, thickness, transverse diameter, and shape. Gestational age of mothers, sex and birth weight of newborns were recorded. Results: The majority of male babies with weight > 2500 grams had > 37 weeks of gestational age and the majority of female babies with weight >2500 grams had >37 weeks of gestational age. The mean weight of placentae in male babies was 416.7 grams, the mean surface area was 226.5 sq cm, mean volume was 372.2 ml and mean thickness were 2.04 cm. while the mean weight of placentae in female babies was 407.5 grams, the mean surface area was 220.4 sq cm, mean volume was 354.6 ml and mean thickness was 2.10 cm. Statistics show that the highest sensitivity and specificity for determining the low birth weight of babies in hypertensive mothers was seen with a surface area of the placenta which was 82.3% and 75.6% respectively. The positive predictive value for the weight of the placenta was 65.4%, for the surface area it was 67.8% and for the volume of the placenta, it was 64.2%. Conclusion: To conclude, it was found that placental morphometry like weight, surface area, volume and sex of the baby determined the birth weight efficiently in hypertensive mothers.

Introduction: Thyroid lesions are fairly common & have a wide spectrum of diseases ranging from functional, immune mediated to neoplastic lesions. Objectives: 1) To study the occurrence of various lesions of the thyroid. 2) To study and correlate clinico-morphological features. Results/ Observation: All thyroidectomy specimens were included in the study period of two years i.e, from January 2009 to December 2010. A total of 120 specimens were studied by routine paraffin processing and heamatoxylin eosin stain. Detailed histopathological study was done and correlated with age, sex & clinical presentation. Out of 120 cases, non-neoplastic lesions accounted for 83.33% and included thyroglossal duct cyst (2.5%), Hashimoto thyroiditis (9.1%), colloid goitre (29.1%) & multinodular goitre (42.5%). Neoplastic lesions accounted for 16.67% and consisted of follicular adenoma (12.5%) as the only benign lesion. Papillary carcinoma (2.5%), medullary carcinoma (0.83%) and anaplastic carcinoma (0.83%) were malignant lesions found. Conclusion: Thyroid lesions predominantly affects females during 3rd and 4th decades of life and commonly present as neck swelling. Multinodular goitre was the commonest non- neoplastic lesion followed by colloid goitre. Follicular adenoma was the only benign neoplasm seen while papillary, medullary and anaplastic carcinoma were the malignant thyroid neoplasms. Keywords: Thyroid lesions, Non- neoplastic and neoplastic lesions.

The Gram-negative marine bioluminescent bacterium Aliivibrio fischeri is commonly used as a bioreporter in drug inhibition studies. Its bioluminescence is regulated by the gene expression of the luxI-luxR quorum-sensing system. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of A. fischeri ATCC 7744, including identification of the putative lux operon.

Tuberculosis is a contagious disease, but it’s diagnosis is still a difficult and challenging task as it is considered a big threat everywhere on the planet. Literature shows that underdeveloped countries widely use chest radiographs (X ray images) for the diagnosis of tuberculosis. Low accuracy of results and high cost are the two main reasons due to which most of the available methods are not useful for radiologists. In our research, we proposed a detection technique in which features extraction is performed on the basis of their texture, intensity and shape. For evaluating the performance of our proposed methodology, Montgomery Country (MC) dataset is used. It is a publically available data set which consists of 138 CXRs; among them, 80 CXRs are normal and 58 CXRs are malignant. The results of the proposed technique have outperformed state of the art methodologies on the MC dataset as it has shown 81.16% accuracy.

Solid Pseudopapillary Neoplasm (SPN) of the pancreas represents 1-3 % of all exocrine pancreatic tumors and is uncommon in children. We report four pediatric patients with SPN where each patient posed a unique diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. We describe these four cases with detailed clinical-radiological-pathological correlations. All patients are female, with a median age 13.5 years. Two patients presented with abdominal pain, one with jaundice and one with an incidental pancreatic mass on abdominal CT scan. Radiological studies included abdominal ultrasound, CT scan and MRI of abdomen. Pancreaticoduodenectomy was performed in three patients and laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy in one patient. Mean tumor size was 4.5 cm (ranged from 1.9 to 11.5 cm). All SPNs were benign on histological exam. One patient developed pancreatic insufficiency post-surgery. No tumor recurrence was observed over a mean follow up period of 1 year. We conclude that diagnosis of SPN in pediatric population can be challenging due to non-specific clinical findings, and surgical removal of the tumor is usually required for definitive histologic diagnosis and treatment. Most tumors are benign and recurrence is very rare.

The association between coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) and autoimmune disease has been mounting, and literature on COVID-19-induced flare-up of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) disease is lacking. We describe a case of lupus cerebritis triggered by COVID-19 in a young female with SLE, who presented with fluctuated mentation, psychomotor retardation, slow speech, and intermittent choreiform movement in the upper part of the body. She had a history of COVID-19 infection three weeks back. Her serum immunoglobulin G antibodies were positive against COVID-19. On examination, she had psychomotor agitation, intermittent choreiform movements of upper limbs, and poor speech. Brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed hyperintense signals in the white matter of both hemispheres, suggestive of lupus cerebritis secondary to COVID-19 infection and lack of any other identifiable risk factor. Management included methylprednisolone, prednisone, and olanzapine. The patient was also placed on monthly intravenous cyclophosphamide, and her condition started improving gradually.

This study is conducted to determine the antidiabetic activity capabilities of both aqueous and alcoholic extracts of Senna alata. Route of administration was by oral intubation on diabetic-induced Sprague Dawley rats through single dose intraperitoneal injection of a diabetogenic agent, Streptozotocin 55mg/kg. This study consists of 9 groups with 4 rats each, Group 1 serves as a control group, Group 2 will be treated with a standard antidiabetic drug, Metformin as a positive control, Group 3 acts as a negative control with no treatment, Group 4 to group 6 will be given aqueous extract of doses from 2 to 8g/kg and Group 7 to group 9 were treated with alcoholic extract of the same dosage strength of Group 4 to 6. Group 2 to 9 were fasted prior to the administration of STZ. Blood glucose was measured on the first two days, three times a week after administration of STZ to confirm rats have reached diabetic FBS blood glucose levels of more than 7.5mmol/L. Both aqueous and alcoholic treatments were administrated BID for a duration of 7 days, and blood glucose levels measured at 2-day intervals. There is a significant reduction (P0.05) These groups are Group 6 (high dose aqueous extract 12g/kg) and Group 9 (high dose alcohol extract 12g/kg). Groups administered with alcoholic extracts were shown to lower blood glucose levels compared to aqueous extracts. The alcoholic extract has exhibited significant higher hypoglycemic effects on STZ induced diabetic rats compared to aqueous extract. No side effects were observed during the course of treatment, even with high dosages.

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women worldwide. The Wnt??-catenin pathway appears to be deregulated in most cancer cells including breast cancer. The role of zerumbone, the active sesquiterpene from Zingiber zerumbet Roscoe, on the Wnt??-catenin pathway is relatively unknown, especially detailed molecular studies have yet to be published. Using the Chemistry at HARvard Macromolecular Mechanics (CHARMm) force field-based docking protocol, CDOCKER, the molecular interactions between zerumbone and key proteins of the Wnt??-catenin pathway were evaluated in this study. The results suggest that zerumbone has a strong affinity for free ?-catenin in the cytoplasm, as well as the ?-catenin?transcription factor 4 complex in the nucleus. The overall hydrophobic nature of zerumbone allowed its interaction with other hydrophobic residues, such as Trp383, while its active ?,?-unsaturated carbonyl facilitated its interaction with positively charged residues, such as Lys345, Arg386 and Asn415 in the ?-catenin binding pocket. However, the Wnt protein and its frizzled receptor showed no attraction to zerumbone.

In Computer Aided Diagnosis (CAD) tools, vertebra localization and detection are the essential steps for the diagnosis of cervical spine injuries. The accurate localization leads to accurate treatment, which is more challenging in case of poor contrast and noisy radiographs. This paper targets c-spine radiographs for the localization of vertebra using different vertebra templates, vertebra detection at each level using two different clustering techniques and gives a comparison between them. Moreover it separates the regions for each individual c-spine. It takes the poor contrast x-ray as input, enhance the contrast and detect the edges of enhanced image. After the edge detection, manually selected Region of Interest (ROI) helps in getting the edges of area covering C3 – C7 only. These edges along with 4 different template models of vertebra are used for the localization by Generalized Hough Transform (GHT). The results obtained are analyzed visually for the best localization template. Then, on voted points obtained after pruning, two clustering techniques Fuzzy C Means and K-Means are applied separately, to form clusters and centroids for each vertebra. Another part of this paper is to separate vertebra regions. For this, intervertebral points are calculated and then along these points, centroids are rotated using Affine Transformation. It gives parallel lines to vertebrae and joining them gives region for each vertebra. The comparison and testing of proposed technique has been performed using dataset ‘NHANES II’ publicly accessible at ‘The National Library of Medicine’, total 150 cervical spine scans are used securing accuracies 93:76%, 84:21% and 83:1% for FCM, K-Means and region separation, respectively.

Background: Regional anesthesia includes both spinal and epidural anesthesia is being used to relieve labor pain and in C-section. It is a very convenient and suitable choice for surgeons, obstetricians, gynecologists and anesthesiologist. But this may have few complications more commonly low back pain, hypotension, nausea/vomiting, paralysis of respiratory muscles and urinary retention. Regional anesthesia is a central nerve blockade technique which involves the injection of an anesthetic given locally into the lower region of the spine, thus blocking the painful impulses that are generated because of contraction of uterus during labor Objective: To determine the risk factor of low back pain in postpartum women. Material and Methods: Retrospective cohort study was conducted via questionnaires from postpartum females of DHQ Gujranwala. These females fall in age group 21-40 years. Convenient sampling technique was used. Sample size of 138 females was taken. Numeric pain rating scale and Roland Morris low back pain and disability questionnaire was used. Result: Our study resulted that the 23.9% women had mild pain, 42.0% had moderate pain and 34.1% women had severe postpartum low back pain. Conclusion: It is concluded that regional anesthesia is a major risk factor for backache in postpartum women of Gujranwala Pakistan. Some women experience severe backache in ADLs. Women experience backache 52.9%, hypotension 25.4%, nausea/vomiting18.8%, paralysis of respiratory muscles 0.7% and urinary retention 2.2%. Key Words: regional anesthesia, postpartum low back pain, DHQ Gujranwala, C-section.

A lectin gene from the Tiger Milk Mushroom Lignosus rhinocerus TM02® was successfully cloned and expressed via vector pET28a in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3). The recombinant lectin, Rhinocelectin, with a predicted molecular mass of 22.8 kDa, was overexpressed in water-soluble form without signal peptide and purified via native affinity chromatography Ni-NTA agarose. Blast protein analysis indicated the lectin to be homologous to jacalin-related plant lectin. In its native form, Rhinocelectin exists as a homo-tetramer predicted with four chains of identical proteins consisting of 11 beta-sheet structures with only one alpha-helix structure. The antiproliferative activity of the Rhinocelectin against human cancer cell lines was concentration dependent and selective. The IC50 values against triple negative breast cancer cell lines MDA-MB-231 and breast cancer MCF-7 are 36.52 ± 13.55 μg mL-1 and 53.11 ± 22.30 μg mL-1 , respectively. Rhinocelectin is only mildly cytotoxic against the corresponding human nontumorigenic breast cell line 184B5 with IC50 value at 142.19 ± 36.34 μg mL-1 . The IC50 against human lung cancer cell line A549 cells is 46.14 ± 7.42 μg mL-1 while against nontumorigenic lung cell line NL20 is 41.33 ± 7.43 μg mL-1 . The standard anticancer drug, Doxorubicin exhibited IC50 values mostly below 1 μg mL-1 for the cell lines tested. Flow cytometry analysis showed the treated breast cancer cells were arrested at G0/G1 phase and apoptosis induced. Rhinocelectin agglutinated rat and rabbit erythrocytes at a minimal concentration of 3.125 μg mL-1 and 6.250 μg mL-1 , respectively.

Background: Antidiabetic drugs are many but all of them have adverse effects ranging from simple side effects to serious side effects like hypoglycemic coma. We need alternative drugs which will not only lower blood sugar level but have fewer side effects. One such daily use ingredient in our food is Nigella sativa (kalonji) which has many properties.Methods: This was an objective study in an experimental animal. We divided albino wistar rats into six groups each group with six rats. Diabetes was induced using drug streptozotocin. Three doses of Nigella sativa 0.5 ml, 1 ml, 1.5 ml orally per rat were used. Metformin (100 mg/kg body weight) was used as standard drug. Blood sugar was estimated using glucometer on day 0 (starting day of treatment), day 5, day 10, day 20, day 40. The effect of Nigella sativa was compared with metformin group using the Anova test. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS software version 20.Results: Nigella sativa (NS) produced significant hypoglycemic effect. NS in the dose of 0.5 ml, 1 ml and 1.5 ml produced significant reduction in blood glucose in comparison to day 0. Metformin also (100 mg/kg body weight) produced significant reduction in blood glucose on day 20 and day 40. Comparison of hypoglycemic effect of Nigella sativa is not significantly different on day 10 (1 ml) and day 20 (1.5 ml) in comparison to Metformin (100 mg/kg body weight). Histopathological examination showed that there was partial regeneration of beta islet cells of pancreas by 1.5 ml of Nigella sativa which were damaged due to streptozotocin treatment.Conclusions: Alternative method of treatment for diabetes is very much needed and the study shows the use of the spice (Nigella sativa) daily can lower the blood sugar levels and can serve as an alternative treatment of diabetes mellitus.

K-ras is an oncogenic GTPase responsible for at least 15–25% of all non-small cell lung cancer cases worldwide. Lung cancer of both types is increasing with an alarming rate due to smoking habits in Malaysia among men and women. Natural products always offer alternate treatment therapies that are safe and effective. Typhonium flagelliforme or Keladi Tikus is a local plant known to possess anticancer properties. The whole extract is considered more potent than individual constituents. Since K-ras is the key protein in lung cancer, our aim was to identify the constituents of the plant that could target the mutated K-ras. Using docking strategies, reported potentially active compounds of Typhonium flagelliforme were docked into the allosteric surface pockets and switch regions of the K-ras protein to identify possible inhibitors. The selected ligands were found to have a high binding affinity for the switch II and the interphase region of the ras-SOS binding surface.

Today’s world is the era of technology and it is playing a dominant role in the field of education. The current research work is quantitative in nature. It aims to investigate students’ attitudes, their interests and difficulties regarding the concept of computer assisted language learning at intermediate level. A self reported questionnaire (SRQ) was designed and administered to obtain the objectives of the current study. The sampling statistic comprised of 300 students with equal gender from public and private colleges. The collected data was statistically analyzed by running descriptive statistic technique. The findings revealed that male students had more positive attitude towards CALL as compared to their female counterparts. However, it was also revealed that male students found CALL interesting for the development of language proficiency while female students faced more difficulties in using computer technology for English Language learning. The results provide ideas, paths and suggestions to the future researchers to undergo further investigations in developing computer mediating language learning programs for the benefits of learners and learning.

Lignosus rhinocerotis (Tiger milk mushroom) is an important folk medicine for indigenous peoples in Southeast Asia. We previously reported its de novo assembled 34.3 Mb genome encoding a repertoire of proteins including a putative bioactive fungal immunomodulatory protein. Here we report the cDNA of this new member (FIP-Lrh) with a homology range of 54–64% to FIPs from other mushroom species, the closest is with FIP-glu (LZ-8) (64%) from Ganoderma lucidum. The FIP-Lrh of 112 amino acids (12.59 kDa) has a relatively hydrophobic N-terminal. Its predicted 3-dimensional model has identical folding patterns to FIP-fve and contains a partially conserved and more positively charged carbohydrates binding pocket. Docking predictions of FIP-Lrh on 14 glycans commonly found on cellular surfaces showed the best binding energy of −3.98 kcal/mol to N-acetylgalactosamine and N-acetylglucosamine. Overexpression of a 14.9 kDa soluble 6xHisFIP-Lrh was achieved in pET-28a(+)/BL21 and the purified recombinant protein was sequence verified by LC-MS/MS (QTOF) analysis. The ability to haemagglutinate both mouse and human blood at concentration ≥0.34 μM, further demonstrated its lectin nature. In addition, the cytotoxic effect of 6xHisFIP-Lrh on MCF-7, HeLa and A549 cancer cell lines was detected at IC50 of 0.34 μM, 0.58 μM and 0.60 μM, respectively.

Background: Natural killer T (NKT) cells are a heterogeneous population of innate T cells that have attracted interest because of their potential to regulate immune responses to a variety of pathogens. The most widely studied NKT cell subset is the invariant (i)NKT cells that recognize glycolipids in the context of the CD1d molecule. The multifaceted methods of activation iNKT cells possess and their ability to produce regulatory cytokines has made them a primary target for studies. Objective/methods: To give insights into the roles of iNKT cells during infectious diseases, particularly viral infections. We also highlight mechanisms leading to iNKT cell activation in response to pathogens. Conclusions: iNKT cell's versatility allows them to detect and respond to several viruses. Therapeutic approaches to specifically target iNKT cells will require additional research. Notably, the roles of non-invariant NKT cells in response to pathogens warrant further investigation.

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women worldwide. Several signaling pathways have been implicated as causative and progression agents. The tumor necrosis factor (TNF) α protein plays a dual role in promoting and inhibiting cancer depending largely on the pathway initiated by the binding of the protein to its receptor. Zerumbone, an active constituent of Zingiber zerumbet, Smith, is known to act on the tumor necrosis factor pathway upregulating tumour necrosis factor related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL) death receptors and inducing apoptosis in cancer cells. Zerumbone is a sesquiterpene that is able to penetrate into the hydrophobic pockets of proteins to exert its inhibiting activity with several proteins. We found a good binding with the tumor necrosis factor, kinase κB (IKKβ) and the Nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) component proteins along the TNF pathway. Our results suggest that zerumbone can exert its apoptotic activities by inhibiting the cytoplasmic proteins. It inhibits the IKKβ kinase that activates the NF-κB and also binds to the NF-κB complex in the TNF pathway. Blocking both proteins can lead to inhibition of cell proliferating proteins to be downregulated and possibly ultimate induction of apoptosis.

Human African Trypanosomiasis is endemic to 37 countries of sub-Saharan Africa. It is caused by two related species of Trypanosoma brucei. Current therapies suffer from resistance and public accessibility of expensive medicines. Finding safer and effective therapies of natural origin is being extensively explored worldwide. Pentamidine is the only available therapy for inhibiting the P2 adenosine transporter involved in the purine salvage pathway of the trypanosomatids. The objective of the present study is to use computational studies for the investigation of the probable trypanocidal mechanism of flavonoids. Docking experiments were carried out on eight flavonoids of varying level of hydroxylation, namely, flavone, 5-hydroxyflavone, 7-hydroxyflavone, chrysin, apigenin, kaempferol, fisetin, and quercetin. Using AutoDock 4.2, these compounds were tested for their affinity towards inosine-adenosine-guanosine nucleoside hydrolase and the inosine-guanosine nucleoside hydrolase, the major enzymes of the purine salvage pathway. Our results showed that all of the eight tested flavonoids showed high affinities for both hydrolases (lowest free binding energy ranging from −10.23 to −7.14 kcal/mol). These compounds, especially the hydroxylated derivatives, could be further studied as potential inhibitors of the nucleoside hydrolases.

To determine the causes of seizures in the newborn period.Cross-sectional analytical study.Neonatal Unit, Paediatric Department, Allied Hospital, Faisalabad, from April 2003 to June 2004.A total of 200 neonates of either gender who presented with seizures or developed seizures during hospital stay were evaluated for the possible etiological factors. Blood glucose, serum calcium, blood counts, cerebrospinal fluid examination and cranial ultrasound were done in all patients while blood culture, serum creatinine, CT scan, metabolic screening and Torch antibody titre were done in selected patients guided by history, examination and initial investigations. Results were analysed using SPSS software and Chi-square test. P-value of less than 0.05 was considered significant.Birth asphyxia was the commonest cause of seizures in the newborn period present in 35% (n = 70) cases. Other commonly identified causes were septicaemia with or without CNS infections 34% (n = 68), metabolic abnormalities 12.5% (n = 25), and intracranial bleed 9.5% (n = 19) cases. Less common causes were kernicterus 4.5% (n = 9), hydrocephalus 1.5% (n = 3), brain malformations 1% (n = 2) and lignocaine toxicity 1% (n = 2) cases. Seizure with presumed idiopathic etiology i.e. 5th day fit was found in only 1% (n = 2) cases.Etiology of neonatal seizures was identified in 99% cases. It is concluded that neonatal seizures are rarely idiopathic, therefore, an extensive diagnostic work up is needed to establish the cause of seizures in the newborn period.