Depiction of new flavonoids from Nyctanthus arbor-tristis, their antimicrobial activity and drug-likeness prediction.

Bioactive compounds derived from medicinal plants, such as alkaloids, tannins and flavonoids, possess significant medicinal properties. These compounds have a broad and versatile impact on human nutrition and physiology, contributing to the treatment and management of various diseases. The isolation, structure elucidation and inhibition studies of two novel flavonoids against specific microorganisms, from the leaves of Nyctanthus arbor-tristis are reported in this study. It has been observed for the first time that the presence of an acyl aliphatic moiety, along with the O- glycoside unit at C-7, and the hydroxyl group at C-5, C-4' position in apigenin significantly enhanced antimicrobial activity. Moreover, bioactivity was also investigated through 'Molinspiration' on various parameters followed by the 'rule of five'. This study can be used to highlight the need for the potential development of natural therapeutic products with fewer side effects.

Robust implementation of school food policy is needed to improve nutritional outcomes of children in European and Western Pacific countries: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: The present systematic review explored compliance status with school food policies in Europe and the Western Pacific regions, challenges and facilitators of policy compliance, and its impact on children's diets and nutrient intakes. RESEARCH METHODS: An electronic search for full-text research articles published between January 2009 and July 2023 was conducted in Science Direct and PubMed scientific databases. RESULTS: A total of 659 titles and abstracts were screened, and final data was extracted from 34 included studies. Results showed low compliance with the school food policy in Europe and the Western Pacific regions. The European schools chad better compliance than the Western Pacific, and supportive interventions improved policy adherence. Impact assessment studies reported that the implementation of the school food policy increased fruit and vegetable consumption, thus increasing nutrient intakes (vitamin A, vitamin D, iron, calcium, folate, and dietary fibers). However, its impact on the availability and consumption of foods high in fat, sugar, and salt (HFSS) was less conclusive. The effects of the policy on the school food environment indicated no significant improvement. CONCLUSION: Results highlighted the need for additional support and surveillance at the school level to ensure adequate policy compliance.

Direct economic burden of mental health disorders associated with polycystic ovary syndrome: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common hormone disorder affecting about one in seven reproductive-aged women worldwide and approximately 6 million women in the United States (U.S.). PCOS can be a significant burden to those affected and is associated with an increased prevalence of mental health (MH) disorders such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and postpartum depression. We undertook this study to determine the excess economic burden associated with MH disorders in women with PCOS in order to allow for a more accurate prioritization of the disorder as a public health priority. Methods: Following PRISMA reporting guidelines for systematic review, we searched PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCO, Medline, Scopus, and PsycINFO through July 16, 2021, for studies on MH disorders in PCOS. Excluded were studies not in humans, without controls, without original data, or not peer reviewed. As anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and postpartum depression were by far the most common MH disorders assessed by the studies, we performed our meta-analysis on these disorders. Meta-analyses were performed using the DerSimonian-Laird random effects model to compute pooled estimates of prevalence ratios (PRs) for the associations between PCOS and these MH disorders and then calculated the excess direct costs related to these disorders in U.S. dollars (USD) for women suffering from PCOS in the U.S. alone. The quality of selected studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Results: We screened 78 articles by title/abstract, assessed 43 articles in full text, and included 25 articles. Pooled PRs were 1.42 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.32-1.52) for anxiety, 1.65 (95% CI: 1.44-1.89) for depression, 1.48 (95% CI: PR: 1.06-2.05) for eating disorders, and 1.20 (95% CI: 0.96-1.50) for postpartum depression, for PCOS relative to controls. In the U.S., the additional direct healthcare costs associated with anxiety, depression, and eating disorders in PCOS were estimated to be $1.939 billion/yr, $1.678 billion/yr, and $0.644 billion/yr in 2021 USD, respectively. Postpartum depression was excluded from the cost analyses due to the non-significant meta-analysis result. Taken together, the additional direct healthcare costs associated with anxiety, depression, and eating disorders in PCOS were estimated to be $4.261 billion/yr in 2021 USD. Conclusions: Overall, the direct healthcare annual costs for the most common MH disorders in PCOS, namely anxiety, depression, and eating disorders, exceeds $4 billion in 2021 USD for the U.S. population alone. Taken together with our prior work, these data suggest that the healthcare-related economic burden of PCOS exceeds $15 billion yearly, considering the costs of PCOS diagnosis, and costs related to PCOS-associated MH, reproductive, vascular, and metabolic disorders. As PCOS has much the same prevalence across the world, the excess economic burden attributable to PCOS globally is enormous, mandating that the scientific and policy community increase its focus on this important disorder. Funding: The study was supported, in part, by PCOS Challenge: The National Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Association and by the Foundation for Research and Education Excellence.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) affects one in seven reproductive-age women worldwide. PCOS impacts women's physical and mental health, and it may also have detrimental effects on their social lives, academic achievement and careers. Studies show women with PCOS have higher rates of depression, anxiety, eating disorders, infertility and postpartum depression compared with women without the condition. The economic burden of PCOS is enormous. Previous studies show PCOS-related economic costs totals billions of dollars. But few studies have examined the costs associated with PCOS-associated mental health care. Learning more about these costs may help policymakers and clinicians allocate resources for mental health care for women with PCOS. Yadav et al. analyzed the results of 25 studies to assess the mental health impact of PCOS and its costs. The analysis found that women with PCOS are 60% more likely to have depression or anxiety compared to women without the condition. They were also twice as likely to have eating disorders. Caring for these mental health issues in PCOS patients increases US healthcare costs by approximately $4.2 billion yearly. These costs raise the healthcare-related economic burden of treating PCOS and associated conditions to $15 billion in the United States each year. The analysis suggests that earlier recognition and better treatment of PCOS could reduce associated healthcare costs and improve the quality of life for women with PCOS. The results may help policymakers and clinicians understand the condition's impact and prioritize resources for PCOS care. More research on the condition is necessary to reduce the enormous economic and personal burden caused by it.

Differences in the serum metabolic profile to identify potential biomarkers for cyanotic versus acyanotic heart disease.

BACKGROUND: Growth retardation, malnutrition, and failure to thrive are some of the consequences associated with congenital heart diseases. Several metabolic factors such as hypoxia, anoxia, and several genetic factors are believed to alter the energetics of the heart. Timely diagnosis and patient management is one of the major challenges faced by the clinicians in understanding the disease and provide better treatment options. Metabolic profiling has shown to be potential diagnostic tool to understand the disease. OBJECTIVE: The present experiment was designed as a single center observational pilot study to classify and create diagnostic metabolic signatures associated with the energetics of congenital heart disease in cyanotic and acyanotic groups. METHODS: Metabolic sera profiles were obtained from 35 patients with cyanotic congenital heart disease (TOF) and 23 patients with acyanotic congenital heart disease (ASD and VSD) using high resolution 1D 1H NMR spectra. Univariate and multivariate statistical analysis were performed to classify particular metabolic disorders associated with cyanotic and acyanotic heart disease. RESULTS: The results show dysregulations in several metabolites in cyanotic CHD patients versus acyanotic CHD patients. The discriminatory metabolites were further analyzed with area under receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve and identified four metabolic entities (i.e. mannose, hydroxyacetone, myoinositol, and creatinine) which could differentiate cyanotic CHDs from acyanotic CHDs with higher specificity. CONCLUSION: An untargeted metabolic approach proved to be helpful for the detection and distinction of disease-causing metabolites in cyanotic patients from acyanotic ones and can be useful for designing better and personalized treatment protocol.

A critical comparison of the Indian school food and nutrition guidelines with the WHO-nutrition friendly school initiative and the review of existing implementation scenario.

Background: The school-based food and nutrition guidelines approach has the potential to combat undernutrition, overnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies among children and adolescents and set the foundation for a healthy adult lifestyle. Aim: To critically compare the Nutrition Friendly School Initiative (NFSI) of the World Health Organization (WHO) with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) guidelines to gauge the strengths and limitations. Additionally, to summarize the existing studies on implementing school food and nutrition guidelines. Methods: Policy documents of the above guidelines were critically evaluated, and narrative analysis was conducted. An electronic search was conducted for full-text research articles published in the English language between January 2007 to September 2021 in Science Direct, PubMed, Web of Science, and SCOPUS databases. Results: Upon critical comparison of the three guidelines, it was found that the NFSI and FSSAI guidelines shared similarities in many components and the FSSAI guidelines, if implemented adequately, could improve the school food environment and combat the triple malnutrition burden in India. After screening the articles based on the eligibility criteria, 11 studies were included in the preparation of the review. Studies reported partial or inadequate implementation and poor compliance with the guidelines or approach. A few studies identified barriers to guideline implementation. Conclusion: Implementation of school food and nutrition guidelines could improve the nutritional outcomes in children and adolescents. To sustain the effective implementation, adequate resources and preparedness are essential in low-and middle-income countries, including India.

Prevalence and Management of ß-Thalassemia in India.

India bears a huge burden of hemoglobinopathies, and the most prevalent is thalassemia. The different types of thalassemia include minor, major and intermedia, based on the α/ß-globin chain inequality. This review aimed to understand the current prevalence of thalassemia in different regions of India and communities affected by it, along with the management of ß-thalassemia major (ß-TM) and ß-thalassemia (ß-thal) minor patients. A comprehensive electronic search for relevant articles was conducted using two databases, i.e. PubMed and Science Direct. Articles published in English from India between January 2009 and September 2021 were included. Studies from other countries, genetic and molecular characterization studies, and articles published in other languages were excluded. The prevalence of ß-thal trait in Central India ranged between 1.4 and 3.4%, while 0.94% ß-TM was reported among the patients with anemia. In South India, the prevalence of ß-thal trait was between 8.50 and 37.90% and ß-TM was reported to be between 2.30 and 7.47%. Northern and Western Indian states had a higher thalassemic burden. In Eastern India, tribal populations had a higher prevalence of ß-thal trait (0.00-30.50%), ß-TM (0.36-13.20%) and other hemoglobinopathies [Hb E (HBB: c.79G>A)/ß-thal] (0.04-15.45%) than nontribal populations. Additionally, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward classes of low socioeconomic status and low literacy rates were affected by ß-thal. Almost all Indian states reported ß-thal; however, it is mostly concentrated in eastern and western parts of the country. Well-integrated strategies and effective implementation are needed at State and National levels to minimize the burden of ß-thal.

Polariton multistability in a nonlinear optomechanical cavity.

We theoretically study the polariton multistability in a solid state based optomechanical resonator embedded with a quantum well and aχ(2)second order nonlinear medium. The excitonic transition inside the quantum well is strongly coupled to the optical cavity mode. The polariton formed due to the mixing of cavity photons and exciton states are coupled to the mechanical mode which gives rise to the bistable behavior. A transition from bistability to tristability occurs in the presence of a strongχ(2)nonlinearity. Switching between bistability and tristability can also be controlled using exciton-cavity and optomechanical coupling making the system highly tunable. Tristability appears at low input power making it a suitable candidate for polaritonic devices which requires low input power.

IL-10(-592A/C) gene variant a predictor of postoperative atrial fibrillation in the north Indian population.

BACKGROUND: There is an accumulating body of evidence indicating a strong association between inflammation and the pathogenesis of atrial fibrillation (AF) in different ethnicities across the globe. AF increases the risk of stroke and heart failure. Despite various researches on IL-10 response, there is limited clinical evidence present, which demonstrate a role of these immunity regulators in AF. Therefore, this study was designed to decipher the role of IL-10(-592A/C) polymorphism in the development of postoperative AF (post-OP AF). METHOD: The study was designed for north Indian patients. The study included 90 patients with AF and 126 controls in sinus rhythm undergoing surgery at Department of Cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, SGPGIMS, Lucknow, India. DNA samples were genotyped for common single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in gene IL-10(-592A/C). The PCR-based RFLP technique was used to assess the genotype frequencies. The multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to study the association of other risk factors with AF. RESULTS: The distribution of IL-10(-592A/C) genotypes (CC, AC, and AA) was found to be 48.41%, 47.61%, and 3.98% in controls and 41.11%, 45.55%, and 13.34% in cases, respectively (P = .0385). The frequency of allele A in cases was significantly higher than the control group (36.11% vs 27.77%, P = .0654). Compared with CC, AA genotype had increased risk of AF in both unadjusted and adjusted analyses. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that IL-10(-592A/C) polymorphism may have significant association with post-OP AF development in north Indian patients.

Association of insulin like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and thyroid hormones in patients of acute leukemia.

BACKGROUND: For many years, several studies have demonstrated a relationship between insulin like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), thyroid hormones, and various malignancies. IGF-1 plays an important role in tumor proliferation in various malignancies. The relationship between IGF-1 and thyroid hormones is complex and not fully understood. Therefore we planned to evaluate the level of IGF-1 and thyroid hormones in patients of acute leukemia. METHODS: The present study included 25 patients with acute leukemia (Acute Myeloid Leukemia, n = 16; Acute Lymphoid Leukemia n = 9, mean age 28.16 years). 25 age and gender matched healthy individuals were taken as control (mean age 27.17 years). In all the subjects, serum IGF-1 was measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), serum total triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4) by radioimmunoassay (RIA), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) by immunoradiometric assay (IRMA), and free T3 (FT3) and free T4 (FT4) by chemilluminiscence. These tests were done before starting of chemotherapy and either 6 to 8 weeks after chemotherapy or at the time of remission, whichever was earlier. RESULTS: At the time of diagnosis, patients with acute leukemia showed a significantly increased level of IGF-1 as compared to controls (198.32 +/- 67.55 vs 160.64 +/- 45.96; p < 0.01). After 6 to 8 weeks of chemotherapy, patients with acute leukemia showed a significant decrease in the level of IGF-1 compared to the baseline values (198.32 +/- 67.55 vs 155.6 +/- 45.96; p < 0.01). Though FT3, FT4, total T3, and total T4 values in these patients were within the normal range, these values were still significantly higher compared to controls. TSH levels were significantly lower in patients at the time of presentation and the levels increased after chemotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: The estimation of IGF-1 and thyroid hormones may be helpful in assessing the disease activity and predicting the response of chemotherapy.

Iron Oxide Nanocrystals for Magnetic Hyperthermia Applications.

Magnetic nanocrystals have been investigated extensively in the past several years for several potential applications, such as information technology, MRI contrast agents, and for drug conjugation and delivery. A specific property of interest in biomedicine is magnetic hyperthermia-an increase in temperature resulting from the thermal energy released by magnetic nanocrystals in an external alternating magnetic field. Iron oxide nanocrystals of various sizes and morphologies were synthesized and tested for specific losses (heating power) using frequencies of 111.1 kHz and 629.2 kHz, and corresponding magnetic field strengths of 9 and 25 mT. Polymorphous nanocrystals as well as spherical nanocrystals and nanowires in paramagnetic to ferromagnetic size range exhibited good heating power. A remarkable 30 °C temperature increase was observed in a nanowire sample at 111 kHz and magnetic field of 25 mT (19.6 kA/m), which is very close to the typical values of 100 kHz and 20 mT used in medical treatments.