Nimbolide: A Potential Phytochemical Agent in Multimodal Pancreatic Cancer Therapies.

A significant contributor to cancer-related death, pancreatic cancer (PC) has a terrible prognosis in general that has not altered over many years. Currently, it is extremely difficult to prevent disease or discover it early enough to initiate treatment. The major challenge in PC is acquired chemo-radio resistance, which makes it very difficult to manage. PC is a challenging malignancy to treat, and several major impediments significantly impact the effectiveness of its treatment. These obstacles primarily include chemoresistance, drug toxicity, and limited drug bioavailability. Phytochemicals can be used as an alternative to chemotherapeutic drugs, or they can augment the anticancer properties of the chemotherapeutic agents. Nimbolide (NL) is a prominent limonoid compound found in Azadirachta indica, and has garnered substantial attention as a phytochemical with anticancer potential. It has powerful antiproliferative effects on a variety of cancer cell lines and is effective as a chemotherapeutic in preclinical studies. The primary modes of action of NL include suppression of metastasis and angiogenesis, activation of apoptosis, anti-proliferation, and control of enzymes that metabolize carcinogens. Despite numerous pharmacodynamic (PD) investigations, NL is still in the early stages of the drug development process because no comprehensive pharmacokinetic (PK) studies or long-term toxicity studies. Preclinical PK and toxicological assessments should be conducted to establish an appropriate dosage range, ensuring the safety of NL for its application in initial human clinical trials. This review endeavors to provide a comprehensive summary of the current developmental stage of NL along with nanoparticles as a principal candidate for therapeutic purposes in PC.

Evaluation and Impact of ASPIRE: An Interactive Tobacco Prevention Curriculum among University Students in India.

Online education approach provides innovative opportunities for engaging youths. Web-based, multimedia smoking prevention programs have been tested in high-income countries; however, efficacy of such programs is not well-investigated in low- and middle-income countries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of A Smoking Prevention Interactive Experience (ASPIRE), an interactive tobacco prevention curriculum, among university students in India. A single-subject cohort study where each subject serves as their own control was conducted among university student participants engaged in ASPIRE, 60 minutes per week for five consecutive weeks during July to August of 2019. Assessments were conducted at baseline and immediately after exposure to ASPIRE. To evaluate the program, a structured instrument was specifically designed to measure the outcomes. A total of 103 university students participated voluntarily. Average age of the participants was 18.3±0.9 ranging from 17 to 20 years. Eighteen percent of students were curious to know about the various smoking products. More males were more susceptible to cigarette smoking as compared to females. The majority of participants felt that ASPIRE was culturally appropriate for young adults in India, but a modified version targeted toward Indian youth would be more acceptable. Pre- to postintervention knowledge of tobacco-related hazards increased from 70 to 97% ( p < 0.001). ASPIRE, a multimedia interactive program, demonstrated its considerable potential to discourage smoking initiation among Indian youth.

COVID-19 and waste management in Indian scenario: challenges and possible solutions.

The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has created havoc all across the globe causing exponential casualties and tremendous health and economic loss. With increasing COVID-19 cases, the amount of biomedical waste has increased manifolds making more people vulnerable to the pandemic. The developing and underdeveloped countries are already facing the challenges of waste management, and the waste generated during the pandemic scenario has added to the already existing challenges. The improper waste management practices need to be corrected; otherwise, the world will be facing a new disaster that could be termed as 'waste disaster'. The increase in COVID-19-associated waste (CAW) quantity and their availability in the environment will result in their easy approach to other organisms, which will possibly increase the potential risk of food chain contamination. Some of the countries have already started to make backup plans and are struggling to overcome the 'waste disaster'. In light of the limited knowledge available on the mutational properties and possible hosts of this newly emerged COVID-19, there is a great demand to have an efficient strategy to prevent the environment from further contamination in India. The necessity of the prevailing time is to create a more efficient, automatic, mechanized, and well-modified waste management system for handling the present situation and delaying the projected waste disaster in the near future in the era of COVID-19. The article aims to address the issues that originated from waste discharges, their potential sources along with possible sustainable solutions.

Biochemical studies of M. incognita and M. javanica towards their identification.

Biochemical analysis is a reliable, quick, yet effective way for profiling any organism. The same tools when employed in taxonomic queries, they aid substantially and support the process. Taxonomic queries have been since beginning presenting numerable challenges towards the studies of different plant parasitic nematodes. In the present study various biochemical tests have been employed to assess the differentiation among the two dominant sps. of Meloidogyne i.e., M. incognita and M. javanica. Some of the biochemical parameters considered were the specific concentrations of carbohydrates and cholesterol and were monitored in the juvenile and the female of the respective species. Results have been discussed in details along with its employability towards the taxonomical studies especially with reference to plant parasitic nematodes.

Ascorbic acid improves mitochondrial function in liver of arsenic-treated rat.

Arsenic is an ubiquitous and well-documented carcinogenic metalloid. The most common source of arsenic is drinking water. The mechanism of arsenic toxicity in a cell has historically been centered around its inhibitory effects on cellular respiration and mitochondrial injury. Ascorbic acid, a low molecular weight, water-soluble antioxidant, improves the reduced glutathione (GSH) status by recycling oxidized glutathione. Ascorbic acid can improve mitochondrial function by improving the thiol status; thereby preventing reactive oxygen species- mediated damage to liver as well as kidney. Ascorbic acid has been shown to protect membrane and other cellular compartments by regenerating vitamin E. Therefore, ascorbic acid seems to be a suitable protective factor against arsenic toxicity. Present reports describe the effect of ascorbic acid on oxidative phosphorylation, adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase), succinic dehydrogenase, caspase-3 and apoptosis in the liver of rats treated with arsenic trioxide (As(III)). Ultrastructural changes in the mitochondria have also been reported. We show that cotreatments with ascorbic acid and As(III) improve mitochondrial structure and function. We attribute these improvements mainly to antioxidative role of ascorbic acid. Apoptosis was restricted due to caspase-3 inhibition. Ascorbic acid could protect DNA from the attack of reactive oxygen species generated by As(III). Consequently its events led to improved ADP:O ratio, normalized ATPase activity and restored the activity of succinic dehydrogenase. Overall, results support the protective role of ascorbic acid against As( III)-induced liver injury.

Amelioration of arsenic toxicity by L-Ascorbic acid in laboratory rat.

A study so as to confirm the protective effects of L-ascorbic acid against inorganic arsenic (As23) toxicity was made in male Wistar rats. Multiphase observations made on iAs concentration in target organs viz. liver and kidney, liver function, histopathological changes, ultrastructural alterations, lipid peroxidation, oxidative stress and iAs-DNA interaction strongly favoured its ameliorative effects. These effects could mainly be attributed to its antioxidative property. It offers help in regeneration of GSH and alpha-tocopherol. The chelaticn of iAs by ascorbic acid has also been hypothesized. Inhibition of DNA damage by ascorbic acid in liver and kidney appears to be the most significant part of this study On the basis of these results, we conclude that administration of L-ascorbic acid to arsenic affected population may prevent the occurrence of fatal human diseases.