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Diabetes mellitus, a high‐morbidity endocrine disease, is typically treated with synthetic hypoglycemic drugs that are costly and have severe side effects. Natural products, like mushrooms, offer a cost‐effective, accessible, and eco‐friendly alternative. Current study intends to examine the antidiabetic potential of mushroom‐based herbal formulation (MHF) on streptozotocin‐induced diabetic rats. For this purpose, five different groups of Wister rats were established including one normal group. Among four diabetic groups, one group served as the diabetic control, while the remaining two groups were administrated with MHF 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg, respectively, and the fifth was administered with metformin for 28 days. On the last day of experiment, all rats were sacrificed, and samples were collected for different analysis. The study outcomes revealed that the administration of MHF to diabetic rats resulted in remarkable (p < 0.001) improvements in fasting blood glucose (FBG) levels and glycated hemoglobin along with other biochemical markers. The histopathological examination also showed the protective effect of MHF against diabetic‐induced damage in the pancreas, kidney, and liver. It also helps in the regeneration of β‐cells in the pancreas. These findings suggest MHF is a safer and more effective alternative for managing diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data security is one of the biggest concerns in the modern world due to advancements in technology, and cryptography ensures that the privacy, integrity, and authenticity of such information are safeguarded in today's digitally connected world. In this article, we introduce a new technique for the construction of non-linear components in block ciphers. The proposed S-box generation process is a transformational procedure through which the elements of a finite field are mapped onto highly nonlinear permutations. This transformation is achieved through a series of algebraic and combinatorial operations. It involves group actions on some pairs of two Galois fields to create an initial S-box P r   S b o x , which induces a rich algebraic structure. The post S-box P o   S b o x , which is derived from heuristic group-based optimization, leads to high nonlinearity and other important cryptographic parameters. The proposed S-box demonstrates resilience against various attacks, making the system resistant to statistical vulnerabilities. The investigation reveals remarkable attributes, including a nonlinearity score of 112, an average Strict Avalanche Criterion score of 0.504, and LAP (Linear Approximation Probability) score of 0.062, surpassing well-established S-boxes that exhibit desired cryptographic properties. This novel methodology suggests an encouraging approach for enhancing the security framework of block ciphers. In addition, we also proposed a three-step image encryption technique comprising of Row Permutation, Bitwise XOR, and block-wise substitution using P o   S b o x . These operations contribute to adding more levels of randomness, which improves the dispersion across the cipher image and makes it equally intense. Therefore, we were able to establish that the approach works to mitigate against statistical and cryptanalytic attacks. The PSNR, UACI, MSE, NCC, AD, SC, MD, and NAE data comparisons with existing methods are also provided to prove the efficiency of the encryption algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silver oxide (Ag2O) particles are wonderful candidates due to their unique properties, and their use in a wide range of research, industrial and biomedical applications is rapidly increasing. This makes it fundamental to develop simple, environmentally friendly methods with possible scaling. Herein, sodium borohydride and Datura innoxia leaf extract were applied as chemical and biological stabilizing and reducing agents to develop Ag2O particles. The primary aim was to evaluate the anticancer and antiviral activity of Ag2O particles prepared via two methods. XRD, UV-visible and SEM analyses were used to examine the crystallite structure, optical properties and morphology, respectively. The resulting green-synthesized Ag2O particles exhibited small size, spherically agglomerated shape, and high anticancer and antiviral activities compared to chemically synthesized Ag2O particles. The MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5 diphenyltetrazolium-bromide) assay of green-synthesized Ag2O particles showed high anticancer activity against MCF-7 cells with IC50 = 17.908 µg/mL compared to chemically synthesized Ag2O particles with IC50 = 23.856 µg/mL. The antiviral activity of green-synthesized Ag2O particles and chemically synthesized Ag2O particles was also evaluated by a plaque-forming assay, and green-synthesized Ag2O particles showed higher antiviral ability with IC50 = 0.618 µg/mL as compared to chemically synthesized Ag2O particles with IC50 = 6.129 µg/mL. We propose the use of green-synthesized Ag2O particles in cancer treatment and drug delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Nicotine is the principal alkaloid contained in tobacco and is produced by plants of nightshade family. Nicotine has relatively high toxicity with varied effects on our body. The liver of albino rats resembles human liver both microscopically as well as microscopically. Aims and objectives: The aim of study was to study gross and histopathological changes induced by administration of graded doses of nicotine hydrogen tartrate in albino rats over a period. Material & methods: A total of 36 male albino rats were included in our study and after a period of acclimatization, were divided in to three groups of 12 rats each with one group serving as control while as other two groups received nicotine in concentration of 5mg/10ml and 7.5mg/10ml.The rats were sacrificed later to study for changes in liver anatomy. Results and observation: The most common changes were progressive decrease in weight of albino rats and pentad of microscopic changes including central venous congestion, portal venous congestion, sinusoidal congestion, fatty changes of hepatocytes and inflammation of portal triads. Conclusion: The findings of our study clearly revealed that changes induced in microanatomy of liver in male albino rats were directly related with dosage and duration of nicotine administration and considering the similarity between human liver and liver of male albino rats, the therapeutic administration of nicotine in human population should be rigorously studied by more experimental studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protein inhibitors of activated STATs (PIAS) are proteins for cytokine signaling that activate activator-mediated gene transcription. These proteins, as versatile cellular regulators, have been described as regulators of approximately 60 proteins. Dysregulation of PIAS is associated with inappropriate gene expression that promotes oncogenic signaling in multiple cancers. Multiple lines of evidence have revealed that PIAS family members show modulated expressions in cancer cells. Most frequently reported PIAS family members in cancer development are PIAS1 and PIAS3. SUMOylation as post-translational modifier regulates several cellular machineries. PIAS proteins as SUMO E3 ligase factor promotes SUMOylation of transcription factors tangled cancer cells for survival, proliferation, and differentiation. Attenuated PIAS-mediated SUMOylation mechanism is involved in tumorigenesis. This review article provides the PIAS/SUMO role in the modulation of transcriptional factor control, provides brief update on their antagonistic function in different cancer types with particular focus on PIAS proteins as a bonafide therapeutic target to inhibit STAT pathway in cancers, and summarizes natural activators that may have the ability to cure cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the contact hypothesis has highlighted the role of contact in improving intergroup relations. Most of this research has addressed the problem of transforming the prejudices of historically advantaged communities, thereby eroding wider patterns of discrimination and inequality. In the present research, drawing on evidence from a cross-sectional survey conducted in New Delhi, we explored an alternative process through which contact may promote social change, namely by fostering political solidarity and empowerment amongst the disadvantaged. The results indicated that Muslim students' experiences of contact with other disadvantaged communities were associated with their willingness to participate in joint collective action to reduce shared inequalities. This relationship was mediated by perceptions of collective efficacy and shared historical grievances and moderated by positive experiences of contact with the Hindu majority. Implications for recent debates about the relationship between contact and social change are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social support is most important in predicting the physical health and well-being, ranging from childhood to older adults. Social support influences the level of self-esteem of an individual. This important dimension of sustenance is considered as a specific requirement for taxingjobs, medical profession being one of them. During their encounters with patients/caregivers, healthcare team members and hospital management and their coping is the concern of the study. The objective of this study was to evaluate perceived social support and self-esteem among medical professionals. Evaluations of the relationships between perceived social support and self-esteem among medical professionals was done. The respondents completed a questionnaire including demographic information, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and Rosenberg's self-esteem scale. Correlation and t-test analyses were conducted. Perceived social support and self esteem positively correlated among medical professionals. Further, perceived social support and self esteem in medical professionals, with respect to their gender did not differ significantly but regarding their employment sector they differed significantly. Medical educators should provide means to ameliorate social support, so as to increase or maintain self esteem in the long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Happiness is a concept which means many things to many people. Sources of happiness again vary from person to person. So in order to understand the phenomena from the perspective of research scholars, the present study was conducted on a sample of 60 research scholars in a central University, equally divided in two groups of male (n=30) and females (n=30). The Subjective Happiness Scale developed (Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999) was administered along with few open ended questions on sources of happiness. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of the data revealed that mean happiness scores were not statistically significant between male and female scholars. Content analysis of open ended questions yielded main sources of happiness for females in terms of importance of friends, family support, achieving goals, positive thinking, success, money, peace of mind and entertainment. While males reported belief in almighty, religious activities, honest work, achieving goals, family support, positive thinking, money, good health, friends and less responsibility as main sources of happiness. Some unique sources of happiness for females were internet surfing, going out to restaurants, self confidence, on the other hand, sports, less family burden, and accepting change easily were reported by males. The findings of the present study highlight the importance of directing more systematic research, particularly in the context of cross cultural understanding of happiness in youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]