Publications by authors named "Alka"

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Natural substance geraniol has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant qualities. It may be used to treat metabolic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular illnesses. Innovations in nanoformulations enhance geraniol's absorption, stability, and targeted distribution, augmenting its therapeutic effectiveness and mitigating side effects, despite the limits of traditional treatment.

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The most prevalent reason for vision impairment in aging inhabitants is age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a posterior ocular disease with a poor understanding of the anatomic, genetic, and pathophysiological progression of the disease. Recently, new insights exploring the role of atrophic changes in the retinal pigment epithelium, extracellular drusen deposits, lysosomal lipofuscin, and various genes have been investigated in the progression of AMD. Hence, this review explores the incidence and risk factors for AMD, such as oxidative stress, inflammation, the complement system, and the involvement of bioactive lipids and their role in angiogenesis.

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Cytokines are the primary mediators of age-related disorders. The IL-17/IL-10 axis plays a crucial role in bone destruction and neuro-inflammation. Additionally, a new Th2 cytokine-IL-33-has gained attention for its potential implications in aging-associated conditions.

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First examples of sterically crowded β- and meso-arylated decaaryl triphyrin(2.1.1)s were synthesized by reacting β-hexabromo meso-tetraaryl triphyrin(2.

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Article Synopsis
  • * The hydrogel was created using a pH-responsive material called locust bean gum-grafted-poly(acrylamide-co-acrylic acid), which allows for the sustained release of c-phycocyanin, a valuable compound for healing.
  • * In laboratory studies, the hydrogel showed promising results, including effective C-Pc release at physiological pH, improved antioxidant properties, and faster wound healing in animal models, alongside reduced inflammation in treated tissues.
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  • Prolonged wound healing is a major clinical issue, and this research explores nanotechnology, specifically nanofiber (NF) scaffolds, as a potential solution.
  • The study developed multifunctional AZL-CS/PVA-NF scaffolds enriched with azilsartan medoxomil, showing a drug release rate of around 93.86% and good antimicrobial properties against common bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus.
  • In vivo results indicated that these scaffolds enhance tissue regeneration and reduce inflammation in a rat model, highlighting their promise as innovative drug carriers for improving wound care.
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  • TTK21 is a small molecule that enhances a specific enzyme's activity crucial for brain function, and when combined with a glucose-derived carbon nanosphere (CSP), it can successfully cross the blood-brain barrier and promote brain cell growth and memory retention.
  • The study shows that CSP-TTK21 can be effectively delivered through oral administration, comparing its effects to traditional intraperitoneal (IP) injection in mice.
  • Findings reveal that oral CSP-TTK21 boosts synaptic strength in the hippocampus and improves motor function and gene expression related to recovery in a spinal injury model, all without toxic effects at high doses.
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The given investigation examined the neuroprotection role of 5-HT1b/1d agonist in reserpine induced Parkinson's disease (PD) in male Wistar rats. PD was induced in rats by reserpine at 5 mg/kg ip for 3 days and thereafter the rats were provided with the following treatments for 4 days, zolmitriptan (ZLM) group (30 mg/kg ip); STD group (levodopa + carbidopa, 200 + 5 mg/kg ip); ZLM + GA group (zolmitriptan, 30 mg/kg ip and glutamic acid, 1.5 mg/kg); ZLM + DX group (zolmitriptan, 30 mg/kg ip and dextromethorphan, 20 mg/kg ip).

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Melatonin, the 'hormone of darkness' is a neuronal hormone secreted by the pineal gland and other extra pineal sites. Responsible for the circadian rhythm and seasonal behaviour of vertebrates and mammals, melatonin is responsible for regulating various physiological conditions and the maintenance of sleep, body weight and the neuronal activities of the ocular sites. With its unique amphiphilic structure, melatonin can cross the cellular barriers and elucidate its activities in the subcellular components, including mitochondria.

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Background: Gefitinib (GFN) is an Epithelial Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) inhibitor, and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved medication to treat lung cancer. However, this investigation aimed to produce and characterize Gefitinib (GFN)-loaded chitosan and soy lecithin nanoparticles (NPs) modified with D-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate mono ester (TPGS) and assess their therapeutic potential against HepG2 liver cell lines.

Methods: Chitosan, a cationic polymer with biocompatible and biodegradable properties, was combined with soy lecithin to develop the NPs loaded with GFN using a self-organizing ionic interaction methodology.

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Exosomes, small tiny vesicle contains a large number of intracellular particles that employ to cause various diseases and prevent several pathological events as well in the human body. It is considered a "double-edged sword", and depending on its biological source, the action of exosomes varies under physiological conditions. Also, the isolation and characterization of the exosomes should be performed accurately and the methodology also will vary depending on the exosome source.

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The pandemic COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which devastated the global economy and healthcare system. The infection caused an unforeseen rise in COVID-19 patients and increased the mortality rate globally. This study gives an overall idea about host-pathogen interaction, immune responses to COVID-19, recovery status of infection, targeted organs and complications associated, and comparison of post-infection immunity in convalescent subjects and non-infected individuals.

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Neuroblastoma, the most common childhood solid tumor, originates from primitive sympathetic nervous system cells. Epoxyazadiradione (EAD) is a limonoid derived from , belonging to the family Meliaceae. In this study, we isolated the EAD from seed and studied the anti-cancer potential against neuroblastoma.

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Infected wounds that do not heal are a worldwide problem that is worsening, with more people dying and more money being spent on care. For any disease to be managed effectively, its root cause must be addressed. Effective wound care becomes a bigger problem when various traditional wound healing methods and products may not only fail to promote good healing.

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Introduction: Mitochondrial dynamic plays a major role in their quality control, and the damaged mitochondrial components are removed by autophagy. In diabetic retinopathy, mitochondrial fusion enzyme, mitofusin 2 (Mfn2), is downregulated and mitochondrial dynamic is disturbed resulting in depolarized and dysfunctional mitochondria. Our aim was to investigate the mechanism of inhibition of Mfn2, and its role in the removal of the damaged mitochondria, in diabetic retinopathy.

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Diabetic retinopathy continues to progress even when hyperglycemia is terminated, suggesting a 'metabolic memory' phenomenon. Mitochondrial dysfunction is closely associated with the development of diabetic retinopathy, and mitochondria remain dysfunctional. Quality control of mitochondria requires a fine balance between mitochondrial fission-fusion, removal of the damaged mitochondria (mitophagy) and formation of new mitochondria (biogenesis).

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Metabolomics experiments generate highly complex datasets, which are time and work-intensive, sometimes even error-prone if inspected manually. Therefore, new methods for automated, fast, reproducible, and accurate data processing and dereplication are required. Here, we present UmetaFlow, a computational workflow for untargeted metabolomics that combines algorithms for data pre-processing, spectral matching, molecular formula and structural predictions, and an integration to the GNPS workflows Feature-Based Molecular Networking and Ion Identity Molecular Networking for downstream analysis.

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Polysaccharide-based nanoparticles (NPs) such as pectin/ chitosan (PN/CN) had always been of greatest interest because of their excellent solubility, biocompatibility, and higher suitability for oral drug delivery. This study employed blending-crosslinking of polymers (PN&CN) followed by emulsification-solvent evaporation to prepare and compare two sets of PEGylated NPs to deliver phytic acid (IP6) to colon orally as it has potential to manage colon cancer but fails to reach colon when ingested in pure form. The first set was crosslinked with Glutaraldehyde (GE) (GE*PN-CN-NPs) while the second set was crosslinked with sodium tripolyphosphate (TPP) (TPP*PN-CN-NPs).

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The purpose of this study was to evaluate the drug delivery and therapeutic potential of berberine (Br) loaded nanoformulation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA)-induced animal model. The Br-loaded NLCs (nanostructured lipid carriers) were prepared employing melt-emulsification process, and optimised through Box-Behnken design. The prepared NLCs were assessed for in-vitro and in-vivo evaluations.

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Mitochondria experience genomic and functional instability in diabetes, and mitochondrial dysfunction has a critical role in the development of diabetic retinopathy. Diabetes also alters expressions of many long noncoding RNAs (LncRNAs), the RNAs with >200 nucleotides and no open reading frame. LncRNAs are mainly encoded by the nuclear genome, but mtDNA also encodes three LncRNAs.

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Hyperlipidemia is considered as one of the major systemic factors associated with the development of diabetic retinopathy, and animal models have documented that its presence in a hyperglycemic environment exacerbates cytosolic ROS production (via activation of the Rac1-Nox2 axis) and mitochondrial damage. Hyperglycemia also accelerates Rac1 transcription via dynamic DNA methylation-hydroxymethylation of its promoter. In diabetes, ceramide metabolism in the retina is impaired and its accumulation is increased.

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Gum katira polysaccharide is biocompatible and non-toxic, and has antioxidant, anti-microbial, and immunomodulatory properties. It is a natural polysaccharide and exudate derived from the stem bark of Linn. Additionally, it has many traditional medicinal uses as a sedative and for the treatment of jaundice, gonorrhea, syphilis, and stomach ailments.

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Background: Understanding the cognitive and behavioral aspects of Alzheimer's disease- related dementia is surely a sturdy task to deal with. In recent years, a broad search for novel anti-Alzheimer agents has been continuously conducted. The malfunctioning of various neurotransmitter systems and the accumulation of abnormal proteins in the brain are the two key characteristics of this disorder.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study analyzed pregnancy outcomes in women aged 20-45 who conceived using oocyte donation (102 women) compared to a control group of spontaneously conceived pregnancies (306 women) to determine if complications stemmed from the oocyte donation itself or other factors.
  • - Results showed that women using donor oocytes had a higher average age (35.13 years) and experienced significantly higher rates of pregnancy complications, such as pregnancy-induced hypertension (33.33% vs. 7.18%) and gestational diabetes (34.31% vs. 9.47%).
  • - The findings suggest that oocyte donation increases risks for miscarriage, hypertensive disorders, and gestational diabetes mellitus, indicating it should be regarded as an
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