Melanoma is an aggressive form of malignancy that originates from melanin-producing cells known as melanocytes underlying the basal layer of the epidermis with a poor prognosis, low survival rates, and limited treatment options. Although several specific and effective systematic strategies for treating melanoma have been established, the underlying molecular mechanism of melanoma progression, mortality and the promising therapeutic options remain elusive. Shikonin (SK), a natural naphthoquinone derived from a medicinal herbaceous plant, has been shown to inhibit the proliferation of several cancer cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurr Res Microb Sci
November 2024
Aflatoxins are naturally produced toxins by specific molds, namely Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. These toxins can be found in various agricultural products, including crops like maize, peanuts, cottonseed, and tree nuts. They have the potential to contaminate the food supply during different stages of production, processing, and storage.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVarious traditional management techniques are employed to control plant diseases caused by bacteria and fungi. However, due to their drawbacks and adverse environmental effects, there is a shift toward employing more eco-friendly methods that are less harmful to the environment and human health. The main aim of the study was to biosynthesize silver Nanoparticles (AgNPs) from and using a green approach and to test the antimycotic activity of these biosynthesized AgNPs against a variety of pathogenic fungi.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNano-biotechnology is quickly developing as an important field of modern research, generating the most promising applications in medicine and agriculture. Biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles using biogenic or green approach provide ecofriendly, clean and effective way out for the synthesis of nanoparticles. The main aim of the study was to synthesize silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) from Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus and Pencillium chrysogenum using a green approach and to test the antifungal activity of these synthesized AgNPs against a variety of pathogenic fungi.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWomen face multiple socio-economic, cultural, contextual, and perceived barriers in health service utilization. Moreover, poor autonomy and financial constraints act as crucial factors to their healthcare accessibility. Therefore, the objective of the present study is to study the association between health care utilization barriers and women empowerment, including asset ownership among currently married women in Afghanistan.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlobally, the textile industry contributes to pollution through accidental discharges or discharge of contaminated wastewater into waterways, significantly affecting water quality. These pollutants, including dye molecules, are environmental hazards for aquatic and terrestrial life. The field of visible light-mediated photocatalysis has experienced rapid growth, driven by the utilization of photocatalysts that can absorb low-energy visible light and effectively degrade dyes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCancer poses a formidable challenge, necessitating improved treatment strategies. Metal-based drugs and nanotechnology offer new hope in this battle. Versatile gold complexes and functionalized gold nanoparticles exhibit unique properties like biologically inert behaviour, outstanding light absorption, and heat-conversion abilities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this study, titanium oxide nanotubes (TiONTs) were deposited on the surface of activated carbon (AC) by varying the wt% of AC. The physicochemical properties of synthesized TiONTs-AC nanocomposites were analysed by various characterization techniques such as XRD, FT-IR, Raman, DRUV-vis, HR-TEM, XPS, PL, and N physisorption. The FT-IR, EDX, and XPS analyses proved the existence of interaction between AC and TiONTs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHealth outcomes in the state of Jammu and Kashmir have shown improvement in recent decades. However, nutritional achievements, particularly among children under the age of five, have not seen similar progress. Various factors influence the nutritional status of this age group, with the socio-cultural and biological attributes of mothers being considered significant determinants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBimetallic nanoparticles exhibit bifunctional or synergistic effects prevailing between two metals with the capabilities of enhanced electronic, catalytic, and optical properties. Green synthetic routes have gained tremendous interest because of the noninvolvement of toxic and harmful chemical reagents in preparation. Therefore, we develop bimetallic Ag-Cu nanoparticles (Ag-Cu NPs) through an eco-friendly and biocompatible preparation method.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe binding affinity of a drug with carrier proteins plays a major role in the distribution and administration of the drug within the body. Tizanidine (TND) is a muscle relaxant having antispasmodic and antispastic effects. Herein, we have studied the effect of tizanidine on serum albumins by spectroscopic techniques, such as absorption spectroscopic analysis, steady, state fluorescence, synchronous fluorescence, circular dichroism, and molecular docking.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis article reports on incorporating magnetic nanoparticles into natural carbon frameworks derived from seeds and their synthesis via co-precipitation reactions for application in biomedicine. The magnetic Seeds (Magnetic NSS), a metal oxide-based bio-nanomaterial, has shown excellent water diaper presence due to the presence of a wide range of oxygenous hydroxyl and carboxyl groups. The physicochemical properties of the composites were characterized extensively using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), powder-X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), elemental analysis, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and vibrating-sample magnetometer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAgricultural productivity relies on plant resistance to insect pests, with silicon (Si) being increasingly recognized as an important anti-herbivore defense. However, the processes by which Si works to counteract the effects of insect injury are not completely understood. The role of Si in mitigating the adverse effects of herbivory has been mostly studied at the species level in various crops, ignoring the sensitivity and variability at the genotypic level.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere is a growing interest in using green technologies in the food industry. As a green processing technique, ultrasound has a great potential to be applied in many food applications. In this review, the basic mechanism of ultrasound processing technology has been discussed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAmong a few hundred mycotoxins, aflatoxins had always posed a major threat to the world. Apart from , , and of genus, which are most toxin-producing strains, several fungal bodies including , , and that can biosynthesis aflatoxins. Basically, there are four different types of aflatoxins (Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), Aflatoxin B2 (AFB2), Aflatoxin G1 (AFG1), Aflatoxin G2 (AFG2)) are produced as secondary metabolites.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHydrogen (H) is a well-known renewable energy source that produces water upon its burning, leaving no harmful emissions. Nanotechnology is utilized to increase hydrogen production using sacrificial reagents. It is an interesting task to develop photocatalysts that are effective, reliable, and affordable for producing H from methanol and acetic acid.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFhas emerged as a pan-resistant pathogenic yeast among immunocompromised patients worldwide. As this pathogen is involved in biofilm-associated infections with serious medical manifestations due to the collective expression of pathogenic attributes and factors associated with drug resistance, successful treatment becomes a major concern. In the present study, we investigated the candidicidal activity of a plant defensin peptide named defensin-like protein 1 (D-lp1) against twenty-five clinical strains of .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInfections by non-albicans species have increased drastically in the past few decades. is one of the most common opportunistic fungal pathogens in immunocompromised individuals, owing to its capability to attach to various human cell types and medical devices and being intrinsically weakly susceptible to azoles. Immunotherapy, including the development of antifungal vaccines, has been recognized as an alternative approach for preventing and treating fungal infections.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this work, zinc oxide coupled cadmium tungstate (ZnO-CT) was prepared as a nano-photocatalyst through a green synthesis route using lemon leaf extract and characterized based on diverse microscopic and spectroscopic techniques. To explore the applicabilties of the prepared nanocomposite (NC), its photocatalytic activity has been investigated against Congo red (CR) dye under natural solar light irradiation conditions. ZnO- CT nano-photocatalyst showcases 97% photocatalytic degradation of the CR after 90 min of natural solar light irradiation with quantum yield of 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Older adults are always at a greater risk of physical and functional health challenges. These complications result into morbidity, disability and death making them more vulnerable at later ages. Therefore, this paper will examine the functional health status among older adults and its gender perspective, along with associated risk factors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDue to the growing demand for hydrogen, the photocatalytic hydrogen production from alcohols present an intriguing prospect as a potential source of low-cost renewable energy. The noble metals (Ag, Au, Pd and Pt) deposited LaMnO nanocomposites were synthesized by a non-conventional green bio-reduction method using aqueous lemon peel extract, which acts as both reducing and capping agent. The successful deposition of the noble metals on the surface of LaMnO was verified by using powder XRD, FTIR, TEM, N-physisorption, DR UV-vis spectroscopy, and XPS techniques.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in India and worldwide. Mushrooms are important nutritional foods, and in this context shiitake (Lentinula edodes), button (Agaricus bisporus) and oyster (Pleurotus ostreatus) mushrooms are known for their bioactive properties. The application of ultraviolet (UV) irradiation for the production of substantial amounts of vitamin D2 is well established.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCandida glabrata is the most frequently isolated non-albicans Candida species in clinical samples and is known to develop resistance to commonly used antifungal drugs. Human β defensins (hBDs) are antimicrobial peptides of immune systems and are active against a broad range of pathogens including Candida species. Herein, the antifungal effect of hBD-1 and its mechanism of action in C.
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