RESUMO
Background: Children are the most important assets to any country; their physical, mental, and emotional developments are crucial for future as they become citizens. Mothers' knowledge on nutrition for kids plays a vital role in the health of the children. Regular interventions as counseling or discussions with the mothers will be an effective tool to counter under nutrition, malnutrition, and also micronutrient deficiencies. Our objective was to assess the effectiveness of nutritional awareness in child diet among the mothers of under five in anganwadis in Mysuru with pre- and post-awareness. Materials and Methods: It is a quasi-experimental study for a duration of 3 months. The sample size was 35, with convenient sampling, and the data were collected using a semi-structured, validated questionnaire from mothers whose children are enrolled in anganwadis. The data were analyzed using mean, Chi-square/Fischer test using SPSS version 22. Results: The mean score before and after awareness was 6.26 ± 0.701, and the post score was 6.83 ± 0.618. There was a significant association between birth order of the child enrolled and the post-awareness grades. There was also a statistical significance between mean scores of pre- and post-awareness. Conclusion: We can conclude from the above study that regular and objectified communication with the mothers is an effective strategy for the improvement of their awareness regarding child nutrition.
RESUMO
The study aimed to synthesize non-noxious, clean, reliable, and green sulfur nanoparticles (SNPs) from Citrus limon leaves. The synthesized SNPs were used to analyze particle size, zeta potential, UV-visible spectroscopy, SEM, and ATR-FTIR. The prepared SNPs exhibited a globule size of 55.32 ± 2.15 nm, PDI value of 0.365 ± 0.06, and zeta potential of -12.32 ± 0.23 mV. The presence of SNPs was confirmed by UV-visible spectroscopy in the range of 290 nm. The SEM image showed that the particles were spherical with a size of 40 nm. The ATR-FTIR study showed no interaction, and all the major peaks were preserved in the formulations. An antimicrobial and antifungal study of SNPs was carried out against Gram-positive bacteria (Staph. aureus, Bacillus), Gram-negative bacteria (E. coli and Bordetella), and fungal strains (Candida albicans). The study showed that Citrus limon extract SNPs exhibited better antimicrobial and antifungal activities against Staph. aureus, Bacillus, E. coli, Bordetella, and Candida albicans at a minimal inhibitory concentration of 50 µg/mL. Different antibiotics were used alone and in combination with SNPs of Citrus limon extract to evaluate their activity against various strains of bacteria and fungal strains. The study showed that using SNPs of Citrus limon extract with antibiotics has a synergistic effect against Staph.aureus, Bacillus, E. coli, Bordetella, and Candida albicans. SNPs were embedded in nanohydrogel formulations for in vivo (wound healing) studies. In preclinical studies, SNPs of Citrus limon extract embedded within a nanohydrogel formulation (NHGF4) have shown promising results. To be widely used in clinical settings, further studies are needed to evaluate their safety and efficacy in human volunteers.
RESUMO
Low molecular weight acid phosphatase (LM-ACP) peak 2 (the isoenzyme corresponding to isoform 2, IF-2) from the liver of fish Rahu (Labeo rohita) was purified to homogeneity. 900 times purification resulted with specific activity of 35 U/mg of protein and recovery of 0.2%. The enzyme was found homogeneous on sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Molecular weight of 18 killo Daltons (kDa) was obtained. The peak 1 isoenzyme corresponding to isoform1 (IF-1) was partially purified about 160 times with specific activity of 7 U/mg of protein. Major protein band corresponding to 18 kDa was seen along with other protein faint bands. High molecular weight acid phosphatase (HM-ACP) was also partially purified. The molecular weight was estimated to be a 100 kDa by gel filtration on Sephadex G-100. LM-ACP isoenzymes and HM-ACP enzyme were studied for their substrate specificity, sensitivity to inhibitors or activators and other kinetic parameters. LM-ACP isoenzymes were not inhibited by tartrate and fluoride but were inhibited by sulfhydryl reagent whereas high molecular weight enzyme was strongly inhibited by fluoride and tartrate. Phosphate vanadate and molybdate inhibited both types of enzymes competitively, but their action was more pronounced in HM-ACP enzyme. LM-ACP was effectively activated by purine compounds whereas HM-ACP was not. LM-ACP showed strict substrate specificity while HM-ACP showed broad substrate specificity. The two types of acid phosphatases also differed in their rate of hydrolysis of alpha-naphthyl phosphate and beta-glyerophosphate.
