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Slums and informal settlements have long been a policy concern, particularly in post-independence cities of the global South. Although national and local governments devise public policy seeking to address these habitations, these policy initiatives occur in conversation with the often far less visible global policy discourses of international urban development actors. Positing their ideational influence, this study analyses how global discourses from key multilateral agencies and donors have framed the problem of slums and informal settlements over time, to uncover assumptions and biases that ideationally, if indirectly, contribute to urban inequality, marginalization and socio-spatial othering in the city.

Natural products are known to control diabetes and its associated complications. Leaves of Hedera nepalensis are used to cure diabetes in the folklore system of medicines. The present study was designed to evaluate the in vivo antidiabetic and wound healing potentials of ethanol extract of Hedera nepalensis. Ethanolic extract (Hn.Cr) was prepared by maceration and was chemically characterized by HPLC methods. Antioxidant and antimicrobial properties were assessed in three in vitro models. Toxicity profile of Hn.Cr was evaluated in acute toxicological studies. Alloxan-induced diabetes model was used to access the antidiabetic attributes of Hn.Cr. Excision wound healing model was used to access the wound healing potential of Hn.Cr in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. HPLC analysis of Hn.Cr revealed the presence of phenolic and flavonoids compounds. Data of in vitro antioxidant assays showed that Hn.Cr has moderate radical scavenging potential. In vitro antimicrobial testing results revealed that Hn.Cr was active against bacterial strains (Gram +ve and Gram -ve) while no activity was observed against fungal strains used in the current study. Acute toxicity study results showed that extract was safe up to the dose of 5000 mg/kg. In vivo antidiabetic study revealed that Hn.Cr significantly (p

Puropse We evaluated the efficacy and safety of Nuvastatic™ in improving cancer-related fatigue (CRF) among cancer patients. Methods This multicenter randomized double-blind placebo-controlled phase-2 trial included 110 solid malignant tumor patients (stage I–IV) undergoing chemotherapy. They were randomly selected and provided oral Nuvastatic™ 1000 mg (N = 56) or placebo (N = 54) thrice daily for 9 weeks. The primary outcomes were fatigue (Brief Fatigue Inventory [BFI]) and Visual Analog Scale for Fatigue [VAS-F]) scores measured before and after intervention at baseline and weeks 3, 6, and 9. The secondary outcomes were mean group difference in the vitality subscale of the Medical Outcome Scale Short Form-36 (SF-36) and urinary F2-isoprostane concentration, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group scores, and biochemical and hematologic parameters. Clinical outcomes were assessed using two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance on intention-to-treat population. Results The Nuvastatic™ group exhibited an overall decreased fatigue score compared with the placebo group. The BFI estimated mean difference (eMD) was 15.29 (95% CI: 12.77–17.82) and VAS-F eMD was 11.19 (95% CI: 8.06–14.32) were significantly different between two groups at week 9 (p

This study was performed to evaluate the chemical composition of the essential oils of Mentha arvensis and Thymus linearis and their antimicrobial activities. The complexity of the essential oils is a basic challenge for determining their reliable and accurate compositional data. Rapid advances in spectroscopic and chromatographic techniques have resolved this challenge to a large extent by examining essential oils. Essential oils were analyzed through Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) following extraction through steam distillation from their leaves for the first time in Miandam, District Swat, KP, Pakistan. The GC-MS analysis revealed 26 and 25 components in the essential oil of Mentha arvensis and Thymus linearis respectively. The major components were carvone (23.53%), P-Cymen-2-ol (20.35%), and caryophyllene oxide (18.81%) in Mentha arvensis but Thymus linearis has Thymol (2-isopropyl-5-methyl phenol) (40%), O-Cymene (2-Isopropyltoluene) (14.95%) and beta-bisbolene (12.54%). The essential oils of both plants showed bactericidal activities against five different bacterial strains (i.e. Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Klesiella pneumonia, Bacillus subtilis, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) during disc diffusion method and therefore it is suggested that they may be used as a natural antiseptic and could play important roles in food and pharmaceutical industry.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that causes progressive loss of cognitive functions like thinking, memory, reasoning, behavioral abilities, and social skills thus affecting the ability of a person to perform normal daily functions independently. There is no definitive cure for this disease, and treatment options available for the management of the disease are not very effective as well. Based on histopathology, AD is characterized by the accumulation of insoluble deposits of amyloid beta (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). Although several molecular events contribute to the formation of these insoluble deposits, the aberrant post-translational modifications (PTMs) of AD-related proteins (like APP, Aβ, tau, and BACE1) are also known to be involved in the onset and progression of this disease. However, early diagnosis of the disease as well as the development of effective therapeutic approaches is impeded by lack of proper clinical biomarkers. In this review, we summarized the current status and clinical relevance of biomarkers from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), blood and extracellular vesicles involved in onset and progression of AD. Moreover, we highlight the effects of several PTMs on the AD-related proteins, and provide an insight how these modifications impact the structure and function of proteins leading to AD pathology. Finally, for disease-modifying therapeutics, novel approaches, and targets are discussed for the successful treatment and management of AD.

Syzygium myrtifolium Walp. (Syzygium campanulatum Korth), Myrtaceae, is locally known as “Kelat paya” in Malaysia. Traditionally, it is used as a remedy for stomach pain. The goal of the present study was to investigate the toxicological potential as well as the antidiarrhoeal and antispasmodic activities of betulinic acid, dimethyl cardamonin and standardized non-formulated and nano-formulated ethanol and supercritical fluid extracts prepared from leaves of S. myrtifolium. The standardized extracts did not produce in vivo toxicity. Both the compounds and standardized extracts showed dose-dependent antidiarrhoeal activity by examining changes in the percentage of liquid stools and percentage of defecation frequency. Dimethyl cardamonin and standardized extracts showed antispasmodic activity on the isolated ileum of guinea pigs. Compared with hyoscine-N-butylbromide, dimethyl cardamonin and standardized extracts produced significant, potent antagonizing activity in ileum contractions induced with acetylcholine. Furthermore, the antagonistic potential of S. myrtifolium active markers against muscarinic type M2 and M3 receptors was investigated by molecular docking.

Highly mutable Coronavirus-19 continuously reconstructs its genome and renders prophylactic vaccines ineffective. The objective of the present study was to demonstrate the anti-viral efficacy and safety of the SOLVx therapeutics vaccine. The peptides were designed with Neo7Logix RD and synthesized with Genescript GLP laboratory with 95 % purity. BALB/C mice were used to develop the HCoV-229E mutant coronavirus model and viral mRNA confirmation in the lung tissue was assessed with qPCR. Mice were euthanized and effects of treatment on various parameters (Viral mRNA in lungs, cytokine levels, PBMC differentiation, hematological and biochemical) were assessed with respective biological samples. Immuno-typing analysis of PBMCs by flowcytometry showed marked increase in T cell subsets, % of B cells and NK cell population in mice treated with SOLVx (Series 1) in a dose dependent manner. Serum immunoglobulin G, and M levels were increased significantly (P 0.001). In the peptide treatment groups, there was a dose dependent statistically significant decrease in IL-6, IL-10 and TNF-α levels (P 0.001). IFN-γ was elevated in treatment group significantly (P 0.001). In conclusion, the qPCR results suggested that the SOLVx vaccine (Series 1) reduced the SARS-COV2 virus infectivity in a dose dependent manner. The humoral, cellular and functional activity of the SOLVx showed that it worked through multi-mechanistic targeting the virus evolution, offering immune response, defense and eradication of the SARS-COV2 virus.

In view of recent energy crisis and environmental considerations, reductions of melting temperature and CO2 emissions during the production of commercial soda lime silicate (SLS) glass at industrial scale are major intentions. Here we show that this goal can be achieved by using carbonate-free borate minerals such as colemanite (Ca2B6O11·5H2O) and borax penta-hydrate (BPH, Na2B4O7·5H2O) as alternative sources for CaO and Na2O, respectively. The SLS glass melting temperature has decreased successively by the incorporation of B2O3 with substitution of equivalent wt% SiO2 resulting from gradual utilization of colemanite and BPH. Hot Stage Microscopy (HSM) revealed that the melting temperature was decreased from 1650 °C, for the parent commercial SLS glass, to 1528 °C on use of colemanite and further down to 1072 °C on utilization of both colemanite and appropriate quantity of BPH up to which the properties of the pristine glass can be retained. Thus, energy consumption equivalent to reduction in melting temperature could be minimized during the glass production. Another important environmental benefit achieved by using carbonate free minerals is significant reduction (12%) of CO2 emissions during thermal decomposition in glass melting which could minimize greenhouse gas to the atmosphere at a great extent. Further, the addition of colemanite improved micro-hardness, elastic modulus and thermal properties of the pristine glass through polymerization of glass network structure. In contrast to the use of BPH as a source of more than 8 wt% Na2O deteriorated glass properties with the formation of non-bridging oxygens into the glass network.

Barrow in Furness, UHMBT, LA14 4LF, Cumbria, UK Coronavirus disease 2019 is the outbreak caused by a new strain of coronavirus named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) 1. The outbreak that leads to a global pandemic originated from the city of Wuhan in China 2. According to a CDC report, the commonest underlying conditions among those hospitalized with COVID-19 were diabetes, chronic lung disease, and cardiovascular disease 1. Obesity is a common denominator for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Previous experience with the H1N1 epidemic showed that obesity is associated with high mortality 3. All of these observations have raised concerns about the impacts that obesity could have on COVID-19.

The field of point particle dynamics is correlated with the study of particle dynamics around the black hole and one can initiate the study of a more complex motion of extended/celestial bodies. In this article, we consider the study of the dynamics of the neutral/charged particles around the quantum corrected-Schwarzschild black hole and Schwarzschild black hole. We investigate Noether symmetries and their conservation laws corresponding to the quantum corrected-Schwarzschild spacetime. We also study the effect of angular momentum, quantum parameters and magnetic field on the dynamics of neutral and charged particles around the quantum corrected-Schwarzschild black hole and Schwarzschild black hole.

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a rare and heterogeneous group of inherited ocular diseases. However, the relationship between CACNA2D4 mutations and RP is not well understood. In this study, a Chinese autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa (arRP) pedigree was enrolled and targeted next-generation sequencing was employed for identifying the causative gene in the proband. These steps were followed by confirmatory Sanger sequencing and segregation analysis. RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) data and semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis were then applied to examine the expressions in the human and mouse tissues. Novel compound heterozygous, deleterious missense variants of the CACNA2D4 gene, NM_172364.4: c.G955A (p.D319N) and c.A1822C (p.I608L), were identified in the arRP pedigree, co-segregating with the clinical phenotype in the patient. The CACNA2D4 protein is highly conserved among species. The CACNA2D4 mRNA expression showed the highest expression in the retina of humans and in the later four developmental stages/times of retinal tissues in mice, indicating its role in retina/eye functions and developments. This study is the first to identify novel compound heterozygous mutations c.G955A (p.D319N) and c.A1822C (p.I608L) in the CACNA2D4 gene. These might be disease-causing mutations, thereby extending the mutational spectra. The identification of pathogenic CACNA2D4 variants is expected to enhance our understanding of the genotype-phenotype correlations of arRP for disease diagnosis and genetic counseling. The relationship between the CACNA2D4 variants and diseases/phenotypes other than RP has also been reviewed and discussed in this paper.

Caffeic acid (CA) is a well-known natural compound used for both health supplement and metabolic diseases. In the present study, single, easy, and quick isolation procedure of caffeic acid was described from rosmarinic acid. A quick crystal formation also was described for highly hygroscopic CA which was spontaneous and stable with lower hygroscopic nature. In addition, the produced crystal CA was highly stable and showed neuroprotective activity with 100 μg/ml in U87 MG which revealed its dual biological effect for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and cancer, respectively.

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a rare and heterogeneous group of inherited ocular diseases. However, the relationship between CACNA2D4 mutations and RP is not well understood. In this study, a Chinese autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa (arRP) pedigree was enrolled and targeted next-generation sequencing was employed for identifying the causative gene in the proband. These steps were followed by confirmatory Sanger sequencing and segregation analysis. RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) data and semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis were then applied to examine the expressions in the human and mouse tissues. Novel compound heterozygous, deleterious missense variants of the CACNA2D4 gene, NM_172364.4: c.G955A (p.D319N) and c.A1822C (p.I608L), were identified in the arRP pedigree, co-segregating with the clinical phenotype in the patient. The CACNA2D4 protein is highly conserved among species. The CACNA2D4 mRNA expression showed the highest expression in the retina of humans and in the later four developmental stages/times of retinal tissues in mice, indicating its role in retina/eye functions and developments. This study is the first to identify novel compound heterozygous mutations c.G955A (p.D319N) and c.A1822C (p.I608L) in the CACNA2D4 gene. These might be disease-causing mutations, thereby extending the mutational spectra. The identification of pathogenic CACNA2D4 variants is expected to enhance our understanding of the genotype–phenotype correlations of arRP for disease diagnosis and genetic counseling. The relationship between the CACNA2D4 variants and diseases/phenotypes other than RP has also been reviewed and discussed in this paper.

Objective: The prevalence of diabetes mellitus has risen exponentially over the last three decades, with resultant increase in morbidity and mortality mainly due to its complications. Aside from medical management of diabetes mellitus, diet also plays an important role in controlling diabetes and delaying the progression of diabetic complications. The current study aimed to access the dietary awareness among the diabetic patients admitted in Endocrinology unit of Ayub Teaching Hospital. Materials and Methods: This was a cross sectional study conducted at Ayub Teaching Hospital, Abbottabad from November, 2015 to August, 2016. Data was collected form 85 diabetic patients using a non-probability convenient sampling technique. Data was collected through preformed, structured questionnaire. Data was entered and analyzed by using SPSS version 20. Results were interpreted and conclusion was drawn out of it. Results: Out of 85 diabetic patients in the study, knowledge about role of diet in diabetes, 76.5% patients knew that proper and planned diet plays an important role in controlling diabetes and 23.5% patients did not have any knowledge/were not sure about role of planned diet in controlling diabetes. Conclusion: Diabetes mellitus is the most common non communicable disease of the modern world and it is on the rise in developing countries as well. In this study we concluded that public education about role of diet in diabetes had been reasonably successful in terms of passing on knowledge. However, it is not sure how strongly public education had encouraged people to adopt a different lifestyle and strictly follow the dietary plans to reduce the progress of diabetes. KEYWORDS: Diabetes Mellitus, Socio-demographic, Determinants, Ayub Teaching Hospital, Abbottabad.

Teachers not only groom students professionally but also physically and mentally by their teaching methodology and life style. In order to put better influence they need to take extra and better care of their diet and physical activity. Doctors- being in health field – their duty increased several folds. When someone starts practicing what they preach, then the outcome will come up with better fruit. In Pakistan, the incidence of deteriorating doctors’ health is emerging with time in both psychological and physical forms. In order to know the health of doctors this study is conducted OBJECTIVES: To see the dietary habits of the teaching staff of Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad. And the frequency of exercise among the teaching staff of Ayub Medical College to see their physical health status. METHODOLOGY: It was a cross-sectional study conducted in Ayub Teaching Hospital Abbottabad Pakistan between December 2015 and June 2016. The data about socio-demographic profile like age, sex, history, and duration of complaints was recorded. Sample size was 203 staff members. Non probability convenient sampling technique was used to collect data. The data after collection and assembling was analyzed by SPSS 16.0 statistical software. The result and discussion were made accordingly. RESULTS: Regarding dietary habits, 51.2% of staff has Health as their main priority and 46.8% has taste as preference. Similarly, 55.2% staff was not taking any special diet, 25.1% was taking low fat diet. 59.1% staff don’t miss any meal, 17.2% miss lunch, 11.5% miss dinner and 12.3% miss breakfast. 52.2% staff takes fat as a dietary content only once a day, 20.7% don’t have any fat as diet. Regarding physical activity, 30% staff members do not do any exercise. Among the population of staff members who do exercise (70%) 25.1% do jogging, 2% do yoga, 24.6% do brisk walk and 9.4% do gym. No great difference in exercise was sensed between people having normal BMI. But in obese 45.5% don’t exercise and rest does it whether regularly or irregularly. Similarly, in obese population, only 27.3% was not following special diet plans. Rest of them were on special diet. Staff members were also active in physical activity as per research. 46.4% of population who was on special diet was also exercising. CONCLUSION: Hence present study revealed that dietary habits and physical activity of Ayub teaching Staff was overall healthy, active and satisfactory. Junk food and soft drink intake were less. But in overweight population special diet intake was comparatively less. And lesser proportion of obese was exercising and females need to be more active as compared to males.

The current study explored the in vitro anticancer properties of Mesua ferrea stem bark (SB) extract towards human colon carcinoma HCT116 cells. SB was successively extracted with different solvents using soxhlet apparatus. MTT assay was employed to test toxicity against different cancer and normal cell lines. Active extract ( n -Hexane) was fractionated by column chromatography (CC) to get the most active fraction (F-3). Series of in vitro assays were employed to characterize cytotoxic nature of F-3. Antioxidant properties of F-3 were assessed using DPPH, ABTS and FRAP assays followed by GC–MS analysis. Intracellular ROS levels were measured by DCFH-DA fluorescent assay. Finally, cell signalling pathways and their downstream proteins targeted by F-3 were studied using 10-cancer pathway and human apoptosis protein profilers and in silico docking studies. n -Hexane extract and its fraction (F-3) showed potent anti-proliferative effect against HCT 116. Programmed cell death (PCD) studies showed that F-3 modulated the expression of multiple proteins in HCT 116. F-3 showed weak antioxidant activity in all the models, while significant increase in ROS was observed in HCT 116. GC–MS analysis revealed that F-3 was majorly comprised of terpenes. Data of pathway profiler and in silico studies revealed that F-3 down-regulated the expression of NF-κB and HIF-1α pathways. Overall these results demonstrate that anticancer effects of M. ferrea stem bark towards human colon carcinoma are mainly due to its terpenes contents.

Objectives Mammary analogue secretory carcinoma (MASC), initially considered a subset of acinic cell carcinoma (ACC), harbors an ETV6 translocation [t(12:15)(p13:25 q)] and is now regarded as a distinct entity. Several putative markers to differentiate MASC from ACC have been reported; however, the immunohistochemical profile is still being explored and updated. The purpose of this study was to further explore the cytogenetic and immunohistochemical profile of MASC. Study Design Cases were analyzed for ETV6 translocation using fluorescent in situ hybridization and stained for CK8, amylase, mammaglobin, GCDFP-15, MUC1, MUC4, STAT5a, Ki-67 (n = 37), CK7, Cam5.2, CK14, SMA, p63, S100, vimentin and DOG1 (n = 42). Histochemical stains for mucins were also performed and data collected for age, sex, and site. Results Fluorescent in situ hybridization showed 9 cases with ETV6 rearrangement and 2 with increased ETV6 copies. These 11 cases showed an absence of PAS-D–resistant granules, with 10 of 11 showing strong S100, mammaglobin, and STAT5a staining. All ACCs showed diffuse DOG1 staining, whereas 8/11 MASCs were negative and 3 showed only focal DOG1 staining. Conclusion DOG1 can be used in conjunction with PAS-D, S100, and mammaglobin to identify MASCs. Cases with increased ETV6 copies are a novel finding with a similar immunostaining profile and should be considered as MASCs.

In this article, we study the dynamics of neutral as well as charged particle in the presence of magnetic field around Reissner-Nordstrom black hole surrounded by quintessence by taking into account Noether symmetries and conservation laws in the corresponding spacetime. Using these conservation laws, we explore the effect of angular momentum, quintessence parameter, and magnetic field graphically on the dynamics of neutral/charged particles in the context of the effective potential, effective force, and escape velocity. Additionally, we investigate the orbit stability of the said spacetime with the help of the Lyapunov exponent.

The transparent TeO2‐based glass‐ceramics (GCs) have yet to achieve the breakthrough in photonic technologies, because of poor understanding in optimizing the growth of nanostructured crystalline phases. In the present investigation, the size effect of phase‐separation‐induced, nanostructured Ln2Te6O15‐based (Ln: Gd, Ho) “anti‐glass” phase in Ho2O3‐modified TeO2‐based TTLG (in mol%, 80TeO210TiO25La2O35Gd2O3) glass has considered to achieve transparent GCs. Raman study of TTLG glass reveals the presence of TeO3, TeO3 + 1, and TeO4 units with average TeO coordination number as 3.49. The formation of nanostructured Ln2Te6O15 phases in GCs is confirmed by X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis. Furthermore, TEM analysis confirms that an increase of Ho2O3 concentration has reduced the size of phase‐separated domains in nanoscale with superstructure formation to attain transparent GCs. The superiority of this obtained transparent GCs as photonic material for near‐IR (NIR) to mid‐IR (MIR) range has been established by the realization of enhanced luminescence intensities and bandwidth at ≈2900 nm (Ho3+: 5I6 → 5I7) and ≈2050 nm (Ho3+: 5I7 → 5I8). This study offers an opportunity to fabricate the various accessible lanthanide ions‐doped and/or co‐doped TTLG glass with control over nanostructure, to design a series of GCs which are transparent from visible to MIR range.

Treatment of mandibular fractures requires a different approach in children than in adults. The growth potential of jaw bones and the presence of tooth buds are the main concerns during treatment. Management of such cases is mostly by closed reduction, and long term monitoring is also required. Complications as infections and non-union are rare in children owing to the greater osteogenic potential. This paper presents a rare case of a child reporting with infection in the fracture region after trauma. Two developing teeth were present in the fracture line region. Although earlier studies advocate the extraction of tooth buds in cases of infection; (as the presence of a tooth bud may compromise the union of fractured segments) the following case was managed more conservatively. Extraction of a deciduous tooth lying in proximity of tooth buds was done, and simultaneously adequate antibiotic therapy was provided, which resulted in the resolution of the infection. Long term follow up showed proper development of the tooth buds in spite of earlier infection.

Integrated Development Planning (IDP) is one of the key tools used by the South African Government to deal with its developmental role in the post-apartheid era. In contrast to the role of ...

Fibroma is one of the most common soft tissue benign tumors of the oral cavity. These masses represent hyperplasias instead of true neoplasm, which develop due to irritation to the mucosal tissue resulting in proliferation of the cells. Although so common in the oral cavity, its occurrence on the palate is rare, mainly due to fewer chances of trauma. Here, we report a case of palatal fibroma in a child diagnosed on the basis of clinical, radiological, and histological features. The case represents an extremely rare occurrence as unusual trauma due to thumb sucking seemed to be the only apparent traumatic factor in the palatal region. How to cite this article Mishra R, Khan TS, Ajaz T, Agarwal M. Pediatric Palatal Fibroma. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2017; 10(1):96-98.

In South Africa, although, various poverty alleviation projects have been implemented with some degree of success, there still remain alarmingly high levels of poverty among those that have been hi...

Indian immigrants to South Africa in the late nineteenth century differed in terms of their origins, motivations, belief systems, customs, and practices from the indigenous African population as well as from the ruling white settler elite. It is within this context that this paper interrogates some of the ways in which several generations of (Indian) Hindus constructed and continue to (re)construct their religious identities in South Africa. Data for this study were achieved by administering face-to-face questionnaires to 66 individuals in the Metropolitan Area of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The sample (selected through snowball sampling) comprised third to fifth generation Indians belonging to the four major language groups (Tamil, Telegu, Gujarati, and Hindi) residing in South Africa. Following the questionnaire responses, interviews were conducted with a selected number of respondents from the same sample. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS while analysis of qualitative data followed a thematic model.

Objective: To investigate different biological activities of the methanolic extract and solventsolvent partitioning of Vitex negundo (V. negundo) bark. Methods: In-vitro anti-oxidant study was determined using total phenolic compound analysis and DPPH radical scavenging assay. In vitro antimicrobial study was measured by observing zone of inhibition. The cytotoxic activity was studied using brine shrimp lethality bioassay and thrombolytic activity by clot disruption method. Results: In the evaluation of anti-oxidant activity, the amount of total phenolic content differed in different extractives as from 12.94 mg of GAE/g of extractives to 54.19 mg of GAE/g of extractives of V. negundo. Among all extractives, the highest phenolic content was found in n-hexane fraction (N-HXN) (54.19 mg of GAE/g of extractives). Significant amount of phenolic compounds were present in methanol extract (ME) (35.19 mg of GAE/g of extractives) and aqueous soluble fraction (AQSF) (12.94 mg of GAE/g of extractives). The free radical scavenging activity of ME and its different partitions were assessed using DPPH free radicals assay. The highest free radical scavenging activity was found in AQSF (IC50=7.78 µg/mL). The antimicrobial screening of the bark of V. negundo exhibited mild to moderate activity in test microorganisms. The chloroform soluble fraction demonstrated the highest inhibition against microbial growth having zone of inhibition as 8-12 mm. In the brine shrimp lethality bioassay, The LC50 values of n-hexane and chloroform soluble fractions were found 3.713 6 µg/mL, and 0.910 µg/mL respectively while the LC50 values of standard Vincristine sulphate was 0.408 µg/mL. The methanol extract and their different organic soluble of V. negundo bark inhibited hypotonic solution-induced haemolysis of erythrocytes in in-vitro membrane stabilizing activity test. The AQSF and N-HXN showed inhibition of haemolysis as 55.05% and 29.89% that were lower than 71.9% of aspirin (0.10 mg/mL). Methanol extract of V. negundo and all of its different partitions exhibited moderate thrombolytic activity of 36.95%- 22.98%. Conclusions: These experiments were able to show the several biological activity of methanolic extract and its soluble fractions of V. negundo at a time.

Post-apartheid South Africa has witnessed an explosion of both national and international ecotourism given its many years of restrictions on the movement of people in the past. Much of its biodiversity has been commodified through branding and re-branding in order to capture a fair share of the international ecotourism market. The Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, located in the northern part of KwaZulu-Natal, was the centre of land claim contestations by the local inhabitants who have been removed from the park due to colonial occupation and later apartheid segregation policies. Locals who have been victims of forced removals from the Park staked a claim to be co-consumers of development and financial benefits accruing from this natural asset. Despite many unfinished challenges facing the politics of the Park, in 2007 the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park was re-branded as the iSimangaliso Wetland Park (iSWP) to market it as an indigenous and local product. One of the rationales for re- branding was the assumption that its previous name competed against another international tourist destination located in the Caribbean. Given the multi-faceted nature of the Wetland Park as a place product, the paper tests out the extent to which this re-branding from a globalised to a localised ecotourism name destination has reproduced itself in terms of benefits, both tangibles and intangibles in the all White town of St Lucia.

Background and Objective: Toxicity of the chemotherapeutic compounds is widely investigated. An organotin (IV) derivative was designed to modulate the toxicity and long-term anticancer efficacy of the single dose. Materials and Methods: The reaction of dimethyltin(IV) dichloride with N(4)-methylthiosemicarbazone derived by condensation of 4-methylthiosemicarbazone with 5-bromo-2-hydroxybenzaldehyde was prepared in 1:1 M ratio in absolute methanol. The newly synthesized complex was characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR, electronic, and 1H, 13C and 119Sn NMR spectroscopy. In vitro cytotoxicity (MTT, (3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-Diphenyltetrazolium Bromide)), anticancer (migration, clonogenic, 3D tumor aggregation, nucleus condensation and mitochondrial membrane potential) activity, and in silico QSAR and molecular docking studies were performed. Results: The title compound was observed to be potent and selective toxic against MCF-7, HCT-116, and A549 human cancer cell lines. Moreover, this derivative was found to be less-cytotoxic and higher cytostatic at the single dose than other organotin (IV) complexes due to modulation of chelation of ligand with Sn(IV) ion. The anticancer activities against A549 cancer cells, however, were only moderate. The reason for this could be due to inhibition of enzymatic reaction in the cells for glucose uptake, DNA and protein synthesis. Discussion and Conclusion: The resonance impact of aromatic rings, hydrogen bonding, and ROS reduction, NO generation, caspase induction showed potential impact to the cancer cell apoptosis, antimigration, and inhibition of tumor aggregation of this compound.

This study aims to evaluate the in vitro angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition activity of different extracts of Orthosiphon stamineus (OS) leaves and their main flavonoids, namely rosmarinic acid (RA), sinensetin (SIN), eupatorin (EUP) and 3′-hydroxy-5,6,7,4′-tetramethoxyflavone (TMF). Furthermore, to identify possible mechanisms of action based on structure–activity relationships and molecular docking. The in vitro ACE inhibition activity relied on determining hippuric acid (HA) formation from ACE-specific substrate (hippuryl-histidyl-leucine (HHL)) by the action of ACE enzyme. A High Performance Liquid Chromatography method combined with UV detection was developed and validated for measurement the concentration of produced HA. The chelation ability of OS extract and its reference compounds was evaluated by tetramethylmurexide reagent. Furthermore, molecular docking study was performed by LeadIT-FlexX: BioSolveIT’s LeadIT program. OS ethanolic extract (OS-E) exhibited highest inhibition and lowest IC50 value (45.77 ± 1.17 µg/mL) against ACE compared to the other extracts. Among the tested reference compounds, EUP with IC50 15.35 ± 4.49 µg/mL had highest inhibition against ACE and binding ability with Zn (II) (56.03% ± 1.26%) compared to RA, TMF and SIN. Molecular docking studies also confirmed that flavonoids inhibit ACE via interaction with the zinc ion and this interaction is stabilized by other interactions with amino acids in the active site. In this study, we have demonstrated that changes in flavonoids active core affect their capacity to inhibit ACE. Moreover, we showed that ACE inhibition activity of flavonoids compounds is directly related to their ability to bind with zinc ion in the active site of ACE enzyme. It was also revealed that OS extract contained high amount of flavonoids other than RA, TMF, SIN and EUP. As such, application of OS extract is useful as inhibitors of ACE.