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Gymnemagenin a Promising Drug Candidate for Management of Hyperglycemia: In-Vitro and In-Vivo Study
Get PDFBackground: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disorder resulting from absolute or relative impairments in β-cell functions, insulin resistance, or both and has been exceptionally increasing worldwide. Gymnema sylvestre is an important traditional plant used for the treatment and management of diabetes. Gymnemagenin is an aglycone part of gymnemic acids which is a bioactive component of G. sylvestre. The objective of the present study was to undertake in-vitro and in-vivo studies to generate a stronger biochemical rationale for the management of diabetes mellitus. Results: The result of the preliminary in-vitro study of gymnemagenin suggested further evaluation of the inhibition of key enzymes related to carbohydrate metabolism. Gymnemagenin showed strong α-amylase (IC50 1.17±0.02 mg/mL) and strong α-glucosidase (IC50 2.04±0.17mg/mL) inhibitory activity. The positive in-vitro enzyme inhibition tests paved the way for confirmatory in-vivo studies. The in-vivo studies demonstrated that gymnemagenin (20 mg/kg, b.w.) given orally significantly (P<0.01) reduced area under curve (AUC) in mice when challenged with oral administration of starch and sucrose separately. The reduction in AUC by gymnemagenin was comparable to that of acarbose (10 mg/kg, b.w., p.o.). Conclusion: The research findings clearly supported the traditional use of G. sylvestre in the treatment of diabetes mellitus
Stratigraphical Position of Piran Limestone Unit in Piran Area, Erbil Governorate, Kurdistan Region, Iraq: Insights from Occurrence of Calcareous Nannofossils
Get PDFThe Piran Limestone Unit in the Kani Rash in Piran Subdistrict was studied in order to determine the stratigraphical and palaeontological relationships. Based on the general geology and structural relations of the thrust units in the surroundings the most representative layers were selected. The total number of the collected samples is 10. The same number of the thin sections were prepared and analyzed under the microscope. Lithofacies and Biofacies assemblages were determined from thin sections by using Polarized Microscope.
Relatively no complete work has been published on the stratigraphy, palaeontology, depositional environment, and age determination of the Piran Limestone in Iraq. The objective of this study is to determine the stratigraphical and palaeontological relationships in detail for this unit through detailed description of the selected section in terms of petrography, facies analysis and subdivisions of facies in Piran Subdistrict at Northeast of Erbil Governorate, Kurdistan Region, Iraq. This will be accomplished by determining and assigning relative age of Piran Limestone based on occurrence of fossil assemblages. In order to conclude that, the studies of the local stratigraphy, palaeogeography, and sedimentology will play a major role in the determination of depositional environment of the units along the considered section. The study tries to establish the sedimentologic characteristics and boundaries of the unit with both lower and upper contacts.
on the occurrence of Fasciculithus tympaniformis sp., Heliolithus riedelii sp., Reticulofenestra sp., Prinsius sp., Sphenolithus anarrhopus sp., and Sphenolithus moriformis sp., the age of this unit was determined to be Middle Thanetian
Interactive Effect of Deficit Irrigation and Water Quality on Yield and Water Use Efficiency of Red Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitate L.) under Drip Irrigation
Get PDFDeficit irrigation is emerging as a promising management practice to reduce water use with marginal loss in crop yield. Further, limited studies are available on the combined effect of water deficit and water quality on the water use efficiency of leafy vegetables like red cabbage in the semi-arid climate of Kirkuk. Therefore, this study was initiated to unveil the combined effect of varying deficit irrigation levels (0.5, 0.75, 1, and 1.2 of full irrigation) and two types of water quality (fresh and saline water) on water use efficiency of red cabbage under drip irrigation with two types of emitters. The results indicated that there is a steady increase in fruit yield with an increase in the level of irrigation with saline water over the entire range of applied water. The highest water efficiency was achieved under the combined effect of fresh water and GR and Turbo emitter when the level of applied water at full irrigation was reduced by a factor of 0.5 (20.31 kg/m3)(21.96kg/m3) respectively Furthermore, crop response factor analysis revealed that the red cabbage can tolerate deficit irrigation and produce satisfactory under both fresh and saline water were GR emitter with fresh and saline water given best value (0.627) (0.703) compeer with Turbo emitter with fresh and saline water given (0.292)(0.566)respectively. Additionally, further research is proposed to study the water productivity of red cabbage with saline water and take into account the yield of the same piece of land when the experiment is repeated for several years
Mediating Effect of Audit Quality on the Relationship between Corporate Governance Mechanisms and Accrual Earnings Management
Get PDFRegardless of the significance of the corporate governance mechanisms and audit quality in observing earnings management, the results of prior studies have been conflicting, and the majority of the investigations have been carried out in both developed and developing nations among which Nigeria has many differences with them. However, the financial calamities in Nigeria are increasing due to the need for looking at the indicators of earnings reliability as the major factor. This study's main objective is to examine the mediating effect of audit quality on the association between corporate governance mechanisms and earnings management using the four causal stages of Baron and Kenny's assumptions for mediation. Thus, the study reported all relevant mediation model results, hence, it only considered the mediating relationship. The study used all listed firms in the Nigerian stock market from 2017 to 2021 financial year. The data was collected from secondary sources of data streams, annual reports, and accounts of the firms. The data were analyzed using multiple regression after all necessary diagnostic tests. However, seven variables of corporate governance were employed and only three of Board Size, Board Independence and Audit Committee Gender certified the conditions of mediation and four of Board Gender, Audit Committee Size and Audit Committee Accounting Expertise failed. The finding of this study highlighted to what degree the audit quality effect is mediating the mansion relationship which contributed to the relevant literature. It also provides a basis on which practitioners, corporate managers, and all users of financial reports can make a rational investment decision in Nigeria and across the globe
CEDEFOP Insights: Exploring Occupational Trends and Employment Dynamics in Poland
Get PDFThe European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP) plays a crucial role in analysing and understanding the skill supply and demand dynamics of Europe. It helps to identifying emerging skill gap and surpluses. It involves assessing the skills request by different industries and occupations. By addressing skill mismatches and promoting the development of relevant and high-quality skills it supports economic growth, competitiveness, and social inclusion across the European Union. The main objective of this paper is to explore and analyse the data of employment trends in various occupations in Poland retrieved from CEDEFOP and World Bank. Microsoft Excel is used to clean, analyse and visualize the data. Charts and Linear regression forecasting trend lines are the tools used to identify the patterns and change in employment over a period of 2010 to 2035 and insights into evolving labour market dynamics. The findings include both positive and negative trends in employment across different occupational categories. Some professions demonstrate a steady increase in employment figures while other show fluctuations or declines. The insights drawn from this analysis contribute to policy recommendations, emphasizing the need for workforce adaptation, skill development and strategic planning in the evolving Polish labour marke
Inefficiency of Online Education in Unreformed Educational System in Iraq: A Literature Review
Get PDFThe efficiency of online education varied across institutions, sectors, and countries. It is noteworthy that while switching to online learning helped to remedy the difficult situation during the pandemic in 2020, the weaknesses that arose from it were largely consistent across various domains. While the majority claimed that the main issue was disinterested or indifferent students, others believed that online education was a relatively new strategy that should be highlighted and studied both during and after the pandemic because it would be impossible to return to focusing solely on traditional education in the modern era. Integrating the online method into the curriculum means reshaping the approaches used by the teachers in the first place. This confirmed approach is more linked to the new digital era of education. A step to be taken here is to have the learners aware of the changes and the requirements by doing courses, workshops, and seminars on the ways that may be followed together with the teachers and the administration which would ultimately reduce the burden on the educators, parents, and society
KRAS and MT-CO1 genes in colorectal cancer: a molecular investigation
Get PDFColorectal cancer (CRC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. The tumor suppressor gene MT-CO1, and Kristen Rat Sarcoma Virus (KRAS), an oncogene are primarily responsible for controlling cell apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, and cell proliferation, and any irregularities in these genes could lead to cancer. This study aims to examine the expression of KRAS and MT-CO1 in CRC biopsy specimens and investigate their relationship with one another in CRC patients residing in the Erbil city of Kurdistan Region, Iraq. The study involved categorizing 42 sets of colorectal cancer tissues and their corresponding controls based on their types and patients' clinical characteristics. The expression of KRAS and MT-CO1 in the samples was assessed using Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR), with statistical significance set at p<0.05. The expression of KRAS was found to be significantly higher in CRC compared to the control (n=42, p=0.0001). On the other hand, the expression of MT-CO1 did not exhibit significant differences compared to the control group with a p-value of 0.12. Furthermore, the Chi-square and correlation analysis results depicted that MT-CO1 expression negatively correlates with KRAS expression (p= 0.0001, r= -0.047) in CRC tissues. In conclusion, the variation in the expression of KRAS and MT-CO1, and their correlations could potentially serve as a good indicator in the detection and prognosis of CRC, which might lead to better translational research on the same. However, for a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms, further analysis is required
Unveiling the Impact of Drying Methods on Phytochemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Anthemis palestina
Get PDFDifferent drying techniques may alter the chemical composition of plant extracts and consequently affect their bioactivity potential. The current study was designed to reveal the effect of four different drying methods on the phytochemical composition and antioxidant activity of hydrodistilled essential oil (HD-EO) and methanolic (APM) extract obtained from the aerial part of Anthemis palestina from Jordan. Aerial parts of A. palestina in their fresh (FR) form and after drying in shade (ShD), sun (SD), oven at 40 °C (O40D) and 60 °C (O60D), in addition to microwave (MWD), were used to extract their essential oils by hydrodistillation and to prepare the different methanolic extracts (APM). GC/MS analysis of the different HD-EOs revealed qualitative and quantitative differences among the different samples. While FR, O40D, O60D, and MWD EO samples contained mainly sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (35.43%, 29.04%, 53.69%, and 59.38%, respectively), ShD sample was rich in oxygenated monoterpenes (33.57%), and SD-EO contained mainly oxygenated sesquiterpenes (40.36%). Principal component analysis (PCA) and Cluster analysis (CA) grouped the different drying methods based on their impact on the concentration of chemical constituents. SD-EO demonstrated high DPPH and ABTS antioxidant activity (1.31 ± 0.03) × 10−2; (1.66 ± 0.06) × 10−2 μg/mL, respectively). Furthermore, A. paleistina methanolic extracts (APM) obtained after subjecting the plant to different drying methods showed interesting patterns in terms of their TPC, TFC, antioxidant activity, and phytochemical profiling. Of all extracts, SD-APM extract had the highest TPC (105.37 ± 0.19 mg GA/g DE), highest TFC (305.16 ± 3.93 mg Q/g DE) and demonstrated the highest DPPH and ABTS scavenging activities ((4.42 ± 0.02) × 10−2; (3.87 ± 0.02) × 10−2 mg/mL, respectively); all were supported by correlation studies. LC-MS/MS analysis of the different extracts revealed the richness of the SD-APM extract in phenolic acids and flavonoids
Sinomenine accelerate wound healing in rats by augmentation of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunuhistochemical pathways
Get PDFSinomenine (SN) is a well-documented unique plant alkaloid extracted from many herbal medicines. The present study evaluates the wound healing potentials of SN on dorsal neck injury in rats. A uniform cut was created on Sprague Dawley rats (24) which were arbitrarily aligned into 4 groups receiving two daily topical treatments for 14 days as follows: A, rats had gum acacia; B, rats addressed with intrasite gel; C and D, rats had 30 and 60 mg/ml of SN, respectively. The acute toxicity trial revealed the absence of any toxic signs in rats after two weeks of ingestion of 30 and 300 mg/kg of SN. SN-treated rats showed smaller wound areas and higher wound closure percentages compared to vehicle rats after 5, 10, and 15 days of skin excision. Histological evaluation of recovered wound tissues showed increased collagen deposition, fibroblast content, and decreased inflammatory cells in granulated tissues in SN-addressed rats, which were statistically different from that of gum acacia-treated rats. SN treatment caused positive augmentation of Transforming Growth Factor Beta 1 (angiogenetic factor) in wound tissues, denoting a higher conversion rate of fibroblast into myofibroblast (angiogenesis) that results in faster wound healing action. Increased antioxidant enzymes (SOD and CAT), as well as decreased MDA contents in recovered wound tissues of SN-treated rats, suggest the antioxidant potentials of SN that aid in faster wound recovery. Wound tissue homogenates showed higher hydroxyproline amino acid (collagen content) values in SN-treated rats than in vehicle rats. SN treatment suppressed the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and increased anti-inflammatory cytokines in the serum of wounded rats. The outcomes present SN as a viable pharmaceutical agent for wound healing evidenced by its positive modulation of the antioxidant, immunohistochemically proteins, hydroxyproline, and anti-inflammatory cytokines
Ethnobotany for food security and ecological transition: wild food plant gathering and consumption among four cultural groups in Kurram District, NW Pakistan
Get PDFBackground
In traditional food systems, especially those of rural populations around the world, wild food plants remain crucial. These resources need to be urgently documented to lay the foundations for sustainable livelihoods and food security.
Methods
In the present field study, we gathered information about wild food plants and mushrooms consumed by four ethnic groups (Turis, Khushis, Hazaras, and Christians) living in Kurram District, NW Pakistan, by conducting semi-structured interviews and holding group discussions.
Results
A total of 57 wild edible plants and mushrooms were reported, with the documented taxa belonging to 50 genera and 34 families. Turis reported the highest number of wild food plants (41), followed by Hazaras (37), Khushis (35), and then Christians, who reported only 11 plants. The most dominant families were Rosaceae, followed by Polygonaceae, Brassicaceae, Fabaceae, Lamiaceae, Moraceae, and Plantaginaceae. The comparative analysis we conducted with the pre-existing Pakistani ethnobotanical studies revealed that 23 wild edible plants have not been previously reported as food items in the area under study, which included Fragaria nubicola, Lepidium draba, Pinus wallichiana, Podophyllum emodi, Prunus jacquemontii, Sambucus nigra, Sideroxylon mascatense, and Thymus linearis. Four wild edible mushrooms are also reported for the area for the first time: Calvatia gigantea, Morchella esculenta, Pisolithus albus, and Tulostoma squamosum. The cross-cultural analysis of wild edible plants and their uses revealed remarkable similarity between Khushis and Hazaras. The overlapping pattern of wild edible plant use among these two groups, as well as Turis, confirms the existence of cross-cultural interactions among these communities, which have shared the same environmental and socio-cultural space for several decades. Food heritage and some unique dishes are linked to wild edible plants in the area, such as Zamda, prepared by Turis, and Saba, famous among Khushis and Hazaras.
Conclusion
This study suggests that some wild edible plants could be cultivated to protect a few threatened species from overexploitation, while the overall wild food plant heritage should be promoted and revitalized; for example, within educational platforms aimed at improving the wellbeing of local communities and the global ecological transition we must deal with