Proline, a unique amino acid whose polymer, polyproline II helix, and its analogues are involved in many biological processes: a review.

Proline is a unique amino acid in that its side-chain is cyclised to the backbone, thus giving proline an exceptional rigidity and a considerably restricted conformational space. Polyproline forms two well-characterized helical structures: a left-handed polyproline helix (PPII) and a right-handed polyproline helix (PPI). Usually, sequences made only of prolyl residues are in PPII conformation, but even sequences not rich in proline but which are rich in glycine, lysine, glutamate, or aspartate have also a tendency to form PPII helices.

The effect of prescription patterns on the performance of the pharmacy department of a Regional Referral Hospital, Uganda.

Background: Poor drug prescription patterns (PP) result in irrational medicine use, avoidable stock outs and drug expiries.

Objective: This study primarily assessed the effects of PP on the performance of the pharmacy department (PD) of Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital (MRRH) Uganda.

Methods: This was a mixed method cross-sectional study conducted in the outpatient department (OPD) of MRRH, questionnaires were administered to 86 prescribers and 300 patient prescriptions were reviewed.

Performance of Jazia Prime Vendor System in ensuring availability of health commodities in Singida Region, Tanzania: a pre- and post-evaluation study.

Background: Availability of the health commodities in public health facilities in Tanzania remains a challenge, and has been reported to be below 70%. Moreover, Medical Stores Department's capacity to supply health commodities has been only 40%. Therefore, Jazia Prime Vendor System (Jazia PVS) was outsourced to complement the Medical Stores Department.

Request for Antimalarial Medicines and Their Dispensing Without a Prescription in Community Pharmacies in Rwanda.

Purpose: This study aimed to explore the request and dispensing of antimalarial medicines without a prescription in community pharmacies in Rwanda, as well as factors associated.

Methods: We employed an embedded mixed-methods design that involved a convenience sample of 235 licensed community pharmacists between February and April 2022. To simultaneously collect qualitative and quantitative data, we used a self-administered questionnaire containing a combination of close and open-ended questions.

Malaria rapid diagnostic tests in community pharmacies in Rwanda: availability, knowledge of community pharmacists, advantages, and disadvantages of licensing their use.

Background: Presumptive treatment of malaria is often practiced in community pharmacies across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).To address this issue, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that malaria Rapid Diagnostic Tests (m-RDTs) be used in these settings, as they are used in the public sector. However, their use remains unlicensed in the community pharmacies in Rwanda.

Assessment of medicines cold chain storage conformity with the requirements of the World Health Organization in health facilities of the Eastern Province of Rwanda.

Background: Despite the prominent evidence of cold chain monitoring in the health system to reduce wastage and maintain product potency, there are still inefficiencies in the storage and transportation of cold chain products. This study assessed medicine cold chain storage conformity in health facilities in the Eastern Province of Rwanda.

Methods: A cross-sectional and prospective with quantitative and qualitative approaches study was approved, and 44 health facilities (public, faith-based and private) were selected using both convenience, stratified, and purposive sampling techniques.

Exploration by molecular networking of Strychnos alkaloids reveals the unexpected occurrence of strychnine in seven Strychnos species.

Introduction: Plants of the Strychnos genus, which include about 200 species, are used for multiple traditional purposes as hunting poison, for example, and have shown interesting pharmacological properties, especially curarizing and tetanizing, but also against malaria. Many monoterpene indole alkaloids have already been isolated and identified. Among them, there is strychnine, a famous alkaloid that can cause death by asphyxiation.

Investigation of the Quality of the 12 Most-Used Antibiotics Available in Retail Private Pharmacies in Rwanda.

Using poor-quality antibiotics leads to increased risk of the development of microorganism-resistant strains, treatment failure, loss of confidence in health systems, and associated socio-economic impacts. The prevalence of poor-quality antibiotics has been found to be high in some of the Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), but no data were available on the situation in Rwanda. This study was conducted to obtain data and inform health professionals on the quality of the 12 most-used selected antibiotics from private retail pharmacies in Rwanda.

Pentas longiflora Oliv. (Rubiaceae), a plant used in the treatment of Pityriasis Versicolor in Rwanda: Chemical composition and standardization of leaves and roots.

In Rwanda, the roots of Pentas longiflora Oliv. (Rubiaceae) have been used for a long time to treat Pityriasis versicolor. However, many people reported the use of leaves instead of roots.

The Inhibition of NLRP3 Inflammasome and IL-6 Production by Derived Constituents Provides a Link to Its Anti-Inflammatory Therapeutic Potentials.

The activation of NOD-, LRR-, and pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome and/or its components is associated with the physio-pathogenesis of many respiratory diseases including asthma, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), SARS Cov-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), and in several autoimmune diseases. . has been widely reported to be traditionally used in the treatment of different ailments, some of which are of inflammatory background such as asthma, wounds, headache, etc.

Heavy metal removal by combining anaerobic upflow packed bed reactors with water hyacinth ponds.

The removal of four selected heavy metals (Cu, Cd, Pb and Zn) has been assessed in an upflow anaerobic packed bed reactor filled with porous volcanic rock as an adsorbent and an attachment surface for bacterial growth. Two different feeding regimes were applied using low (5 mg L(-1) of heavy metal each) and high (10 mg L(-1) of heavy metal each) strength wastewater. After a start-up and acclimatization period of 44 days, each regime was operated for a period of 10 days with a hydraulic retention time of one day.