A Review on Sustainable Slow-Release N, P, K Fertilizer Hydrogels for Smart Agriculture.

The agricultural sector of any country plays a pivotal role in its economy. Irrigation and the provision of appropriate nutrient levels in soil are essential for optimizing plant growth and enhancing crop productivity. To support the increasing need for food due to the growing population worldwide, synthetic fertilizers have been widely used in the agricultural sector.

Exploring pathological targets and advancing pharmacotherapy in autism spectrum disorder: Contributions of glial cells and heavy metals.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a globally recognized neurodevelopmental condition characterized by repetitive and restrictive behavior, persistent deficits in social interaction and communication, mental disturbances, etc., affecting approximately 1 in 100 children worldwide. A combination of genetic and environmental factors is involved in the etiopathogenesis of the disease, but specific biomarkers have not yet been identified.

Molecular Structural Control of the Amorphous-Crystalline Balance in Solids: Structure-Phase Correlation in DADQs with Enhanced/Switchable Fluorescence.

The amorphous/crystalline (A/C) assembly in molecular solids has a direct bearing on their attributes and applications, including mechanical, pharmaceutical, electronic and photophysical.  A systematic analysis of the molecular features and interactions that determine the predilection towards the A, C or bi-stable A-C states is critical.  This fundamental problem is addressed through an exhaustive investigation of a large family of alkoxyalkyl diaminodicyanoquinodimethanes (ROR'-DADQs); enhancement of their fluorescence from the solution, to the A, to the C state serves as an excellent signature of the phase preference and temporal stability.

Efficacy and safety of daprodustat in patients on peritoneal dialysis in the ASCEND-D trial.

Background And Hypothesis: Daprodustat, an oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor, is approved for treatment of anemia in dialysis patients with CKD in some parts of the world. This subgroup analysis examined the efficacy and safety of daprodustat versus darbepoetin alfa in patients with anemia of CKD undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD).

Methods: ASCEND-D (NCT02879305) was an open-label, Phase 3 trial; patients with CKD were randomized to daprodustat daily and epoetin alfa (HD patients) or darbepoetin alfa (PD patients).

Patterns and trends in burden of asthma and its attributable risk factors from 1990 to 2021 among south Asian countries: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021.

Objective: Asthma poses a significant health burden in South Asia, with increasing incidence and mortality despite a global decline in age-standardized prevalence rates. This study aims to analyze asthma trends from 1990 to 2021, focusing on prevalence, incidence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) across South Asia. The study also assesses the impact of risk factors like high body mass index (BMI), smoking, and occupational exposures on asthma outcomes.

Novel Strategies for the Treatment of Lung Cancer: An In-depth Analysis of the Use of Immunotherapy, Precision Medicine, and Artificial Intelligence to Improve Prognoses.

Therapeutic hurdles persist in the fight against lung cancer, although it is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Results are still not up to par, even with the best efforts of conventional medicine, thus new avenues of investigation are required. Examining how immunotherapy, precision medicine, and AI are being used to manage lung cancer, this review shows how these tools can change the game for patients and increase their chances of survival.

A Promising Druggable Target for Translational Therapy of Ovarian Cancer: A Molecular Profiling of Therapeutic Innovations, Extracellular Vesicle Acquired Resistance, and Signaling Pathways.

Ovarian cancer (OC) ranks as the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, posing a significant threat to female health. Late-stage diagnoses, driven by elusive symptoms often masquerading as gastrointestinal issues, contribute to a concerning 70% of cases being identified in advanced stages. While early-stage OC brags a 90% cure rate, progression involving pelvic organs or extending beyond the peritoneal cavity drastically diminishes it.

Poly Lactic Co-glycolic Acid d-α-tocopheryl Polyethylene Glycol 1000 Succinate Fabricated Polyethylene Glycol Hybrid Nanoparticles of Imatinib Mesylate for the Treatment of Glioblastoma Multiforme.

Aims: This study aimed to develop Imatinib Mesylate (IMT)-loaded Poly Lactic-co-Glycolic Acid (PLGA)-D-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate (TPGS)- Polyethylene glycol (PEG) hybrid nanoparticles (CSLHNPs) with optimized physicochemical properties for targeted delivery to glioblastoma multiforme.

Background: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most destructive type of brain tumor with several complications. Currently, most treatments for drug delivery for this disease face challenges due to the poor blood-brain barrier (BBB) and lack of site-specific delivery.

Computational Model to Predict Potential Therapeutic Targets Employing Generative Adversarial Networks for Analysis of Proteins Involved in Mycobacterium fortuitum Biofilm Formation.

A planktonic population of bacteria can form a biofilm by adhesion and colonization. Proteins known as "adhesins" can bind to certain environmental structures, such as sugars, which will cause the bacteria to attach to the substrate. Quorum sensing is used to establish the population is dense enough to form a biofilm.

Dietary and Nutritional Aspects of Metabolic Syndrome Management: An Overview.

Sedentary lifestyles and prolonged physical inactivity are often linked to poor mental and physical health as well as an increased risk of a number of chronic illnesses, including cancer, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular problems. Metabolic Syndrome (MetS), as the new disease, has emerged as the world's leading cause of illness. Despite having its roots in the West, this issue has now completely globalized due to the development of the Western way of life throughout the world.

Delineating CYP2C19-Mediated Interactions: Network Pharmacology Investigation of Ilaprazole and Clopidogrel versus Conventional Proton Pump Inhibitors.

Background: Clopidogrel, an antiplatelet drug commonly used in cardiovascular disease, is metabolized by the liver mainly through CYP2C19. Concomitant use of Proton pump inhibitors along with clopidogrel may affect the potency of clopidogrel by CYP2C19 inhibition. However, a novel PPI, ilaprazole is known to differ in its pharmacokinetic features, given the potential differences between ilaprazole's interactions and their metabolism with clopidogrel.

Naphthalimide and Carbazole Based Mechanochromic Molecular Dyads and Triads for Selective Lysosome Imaging.

In this study, we report the design and development of a stable fluorescent probe that is selectively localized in the cytosol of Hela cells. We designed two probes, 1 and 2, with D-π-A (carbazole (Cbz)-vinyl-naphthalimide (NPI)) and A-π-D-π-A (NPI-vinyl-Cbz-vinyl-NPI) architecture, respectively. Probes 1 and 2 exhibit broad photoluminescence (PL) spectra ranging from green (550 nm) to far-red (800 nm) in solutions and aggregated states.

Humic acid Glazed Magnetite material for the Adsorptive Desulfurization of Model Fuel.

Impact of climate change that stems from gaseous emissions require sustainable materials to eliminate sulfur.  This study involves the modification of humic acid with magnetite nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄ NPs) by a microwave-assisted synthesis of an absorbent with reasonable pore volume and diameter for elimination of thiophenic compounds from fuel. The magnetic nano adsorbent designated Fe3O4@HA was characterized using advanced spectroscopic techniques, while their structure and morphology were analyzed through DLS, XPS, XRD, FT-IR, TGA, FESEM-EDX, VSM, and BET-N2 techniques.

Green Synthesis of ZnO Nanoparticles Using Ficus benghalensis for Visible Light-Driven Photocatalytic Degradation of Crystal Violet and Antibacterial and Antibiofilm Activities.

Crystal Violet (CV) is a vibrant and harmful dye known for its toxicity to aquatic life and potential carcinogenic effects on humans. This study explores the removal of CV through photocatalysis driven by visible light, as well as examining the antibacterial and antibiofilm characteristics of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) synthesized from the aerial roots of Ficus benghalensis. Various characterization techniques were employed to confirm the optical properties, crystal lattices, and morphology of ZnO NPs.

Efficacy and safety of triple hormone receptor agonist retatrutide for the management of obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Retatrutide is a novel triple hormone receptor agonist which has shown great promise in tackling obesity in preliminary trials. We did this systematic review and meta-analysis to pool the results of all available trials and ascertain its safety and efficacy in the treatment of obesity.

Material And Methods: A literature search was conducted in PubMed, Cochrane Central and Embase using appropriate search terms and randomized control trials (RCTs) were identified which reported the safety and efficacy of retatrutide.

Influence of CTAB Reverse Micellar Confinement on the Tetrahedral Structure of Liquid Water.

The effect of confinement on the tetrahedral ordering of liquid water plays a vital role in controlling their microscopic structure and dynamics as well as their spectroscopic properties. In this article, we have performed the classical molecular dynamics simulations of four different CTAB/water/chloroform reverse micelles with varied water content to study how the tetrahedral ordering of nanoscale water inside reverse micellar confinement influences the microscopic dynamics and the structural relaxation of water···water hydrogen bonds and its impact on the low-frequency intermolecular vibrational bands. We have noticed from the results obtained from simulated trajectories the lowering trends of tetrahedral ordering of water pools in reverse micellar confinements as we move from bulk to confined and strictly confined environments.

National Medical Commission's new rule on capping the number of undergraduate medical seats in high performing States: pragmatic or quixotic?

The article analyses the recent amendment by the National Medical Commission (NMC) in India, capping the number of undergraduate medical seats in high-performing states, which has sparked a debate. With a healthcare system catering to the diverse needs of 1.4 billion people, regional disparities in healthcare personnel distribution have emerged, especially among doctors.

Unverified medical certifications surge amid telemedicine guideline ambiguities.

Telemedicine technology plays a crucial role in addressing healthcare challenges, particularly in countries like India, by mitigating physician shortages, reducing patient burden and costs, and aiding in disease prevention. The term telemedicine, meaning "healing at a distance," was coined in 1970 [1]. It encompasses the use of electronic, communication, and information technologies to deliver healthcare services remotely.

A quasi-experimental study of trigger films for teaching the doctor-patient relationship.

Background: It is challenging to teach the complexity of the doctor-patient relationship through attitude, ethics, and communication (AETCOM) modules, particularly without being formally trained and especially to first-year medical students who do not interact directly with patients. The present study was undertaken to assess the effectiveness of trigger films (TFs) or short movie clips as a teaching-learning tool to train undergraduate medical students on various aspects of doctor-patient relationships.

Methods: Two modules on various aspects of the doctor-patient relationship were developed using TFs and written case studies and implemented on Phase Ⅰ medical students.

Educating healthcare professionals about pharmaceutical promotion.

I read with great interest the editorial on the pharmaceutical company-healthcare relationship published in the April-June issue of this journal [1]. Clinical practice guidelines are increasingly used by physicians to guide treatment decisions, and the pharmaceutical industry focuses on influencing the authors of these guidelines. Almost one in four guideline writers with no disclosed ties may have potentially relevant undisclosed ties to pharmaceutical companies [2].

The dire struggle: India's unfulfilled promise to eliminate tuberculosis.

In 2023, as per the World Health Organization (WHO), India emerged as the country with the highest number of tuberculosis (TB) cases, reporting 2.8 million cases and contributing to 27% of the global TB burden [1]. Worldwide, there were 7.

Reasons for retraction of clinical research articles in PubMed indexed medical journals from 2012 to 2022.

Background: Misconduct in the publication of research articles is a serious concern for the scientific community. This study was conducted with the objective to assess various reasons for retraction of clinical research articles published in PubMed indexed journals from all over the world since 2012 to 2022.

Methods: A search was performed on the PubMed database for retracted research articles using filters for "retracted publication".

Attitudes and perceptions of undergraduate medical students about sexual harassment and gender discrimination: A survey-based study.

Background: Sexual harassment (SH) and Gender discrimination (GD) faced by medical students have been neglected areas of study in India. Only a few recent studies could be found, despite frequent media reports on SH and GD. This study aimed to assess the attitudes and perceptions of sexual harassment and gender discrimination and evaluate the forms of SH and GD experienced by them.