All Articles

Identification and Quantification of an Adulterant in a Dietary Supplement Marketed for Sexual Enhancement

Abstract:

In recent years, the consumption of dietary supplements (DS) has increased worldwide. In Argentina, approximately 14 million DS units were sold between 2015 and 2017. The adulteration of DS with active pharmaceutical ingredients or their analogues has been reported. This represents an alarming emerging risk to public health. The aim of this work was to detect the possible adulteration of a DS marketed in Argentina for the treatment of erectile dysfunction. Initially, thin layer chromatography analysis of the DS capsules content suggested the presence of a major compound. For the isolation and purification of this compound, an easy method consisted of a liquid-liquid extraction (water/CH2Cl2) followed by re-crystallisation from ethanol, is reported. Spectroscopic techniques such as mono- and bidimensional nuclear magnetic resonance, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and mass spectrometry allowed its identification as tadalafil. A rapid and reliable method was...

Causative Factors behind an Efficacious Teacher: Evaluating Teacher Efficacy

Abstract:

In the third world school dropout rates are the highest, which is largely attributable to a dearth of efficacious teachers. The present research is an analysis of the teacher efficacy based on the teaching milieu. The Ohio State Teacher Efficacy Scale was used for data collection. Probability sampling design was used to select 171 secondary school teachers. As per the results, subject specialization affects teacher efficacy the most whereas, institution type influences teacher efficacy the least. The less experienced teachers have a greater self-efficacy than the experienced teachers, teachers teaching uncrowded classes are more efficacious than those teaching crowded classes.

Effect of Night-Clinic Closure on Physicians’ Workload and Satisfaction

Abstract:

Excessive overtime work, which is a serious problem among Chinese physicians, is the primary reason for night clinic closure policies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of such policies on physicians’ workload and satisfaction. Physicians at the hospital, which closed its night clinic in 2017, were selected as the intervention group, and those at another hospital, which still operates a night clinic, were chosen as the control group. In total, 829 participating physicians self-reported their characteristics and responded to questions on three effect indicators: weekly hours worked, work–family balance, and job satisfaction; the index years were for 2016 and 2017. A pre–post-with-control-group study design and the difference-in-difference (DID) methodology were employed to evaluate the effect of night clinic closure. After adjusting for physicians’ characteristics, the effect of all variables, except hours worked per week, on work–family b...

Antioxidative Potential of Consciousness Energy Healing Treatment on HepG2 Cells and DMEM after Oxidative Stress Induced by Hydrogen Peroxide

Abstract:

Antioxidants can reduce oxidative stress in cells is used for the treatment of several disorders such as cancer, cardiovascular, and inflammatory diseases. The present study was evaluated the antioxidant potential of the Consciousness Energy Healing (The Trivedi Effect^®) Treated human hepatoma cell line (HepG2) and Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) for the assessment of cell viability under hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress. The Biofield Energy Treated HepG2 cells group was maintained for 23 days under standard conditions. On the next day, the cells were challenged with 1 mM of H₂O₂ for the generation of oxidative stress. The ability of the Biofield Energy Healing Treatment to protect from the oxidative stress was determined by MTT cell viability assay and compared with the negative control group. The percentage of cell viability was significantly (p≤0.001) increased by 13.6% ...

The Raw pH in Plants: A Multifaceted Parameter

Abstract:

The measurement of the in vivo raw pH of vegetative organs is a unusual way obtaining plant knowledge. The authenticity of the pH parameter of the leaf and its independence from soil pH has already been highlighted. In the present work we observe how and to what extent water-temperature mechanisms as well as bio-fertilizers inocula can affect the raw pH and how great the biodiversity is in plants. A trial with Arabidopsis thaliana in a phytotrone has shown that, in the dark, the raw pH did not change from +18 to +35 °C (b = -0.0027 N.S.), while in the light, the regression coefficients were significant and negative, and the acidification in the leaves progressed from high (-0.0097) to normal (-0.0127) and then to low (-0.0370) water level. We have confirmed that warming induces a decrease of raw petiole pH of -0.070 pH C^°-1 in grapevine leaves. In accordance with water-temperature mechan...

Impact of Consciousness Energy Healing Treatment on the Physicochemical and Thermal Properties of Silver Oxide

Abstract:

Silver oxide (Ag₂O) has the antimicrobial properties, which is insoluble in most of the solvents and sensitive to light. Therefore, this study was performed to evaluate the impact of the Trivedi Effect^®-Consciousness Energy Healing Treatment on the physicochemical and thermal properties of Ag₂O powder using modern analytical techniques. The Ag₂O sample was divided into two parts, one part of the sample was considered as the control sample, whereas the other part of the sample received the Biofield Treatment remotely by a renowned Biofield Energy Healer, Dahryn Trivedi and termed as a treated sample. The particle size values were significantly decreased by 26.70% (d₁₀), 20.67% (d₅₀), 18.7% (d₉₀), and 20.57% ^D(43), hence, the specific surface area was significantly increased by 32.33% in the treated Ag₂O sample than control sample. PXRD peak intensities an...

Biological Networks: An Introductory Review

Abstract:

All aspects of life activities in living cells are mediated/executed and regulated by a vast number of networks, comprising a wide spectrum of components, starting with simple biomolecules and ending with the whole organism, and functioning within a precisely organized tight framework. Proper mediation of cellular activities necessitates their inclusion within the context of structured and organized network systems capable of regulating/coordinating and synchronizing the countless numbers of biological processes occurring within living cells. The number of biological networks and pathways within the living cell is considerably huge, being dependent on the structural complexity and functional capabilities of the cell. Pathogenesis and progression of human diseases result from functional disturbances of biological networks within the cell as disturbed network function leads to deleterious effects on physiological processes dependent on, and mediated by, affected net...

Changes in Rats’ Liver Structure Induced by Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles and the Possible Protective Role of Vitamin E

Abstract:

Oral ingestion of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) may lead to serious liver injury. Vitamin E (VE) is an important antioxidant factor that can reduce such damage.

Clinical Evaluation of Significance of 25(Oh)D Levels in Patients with Organophosphorus Poisoning

Abstract:

Organophosphate (OP) pesticide poisoning is a major challenging public-health problem in developing countries. Vitamin D deficiency is pandemic, yet it is the most under-diagnosed and under-treated nutritional deficiency in the world and it has been reported to be clinically correlated with psychiatric illness and manifestation of severe systemic inflammatory response syndrome like ARDS. Thus vitamin D deficiency may affect clinical course and outcome in cases of OPP.

Improving the Efficiency of GF-120 Baits in Attracting BactroceraZonata by Adding Ammonium Compounds with Particular Emphasis on pH level

Abstract:

The peach fruit fly, Bactrocerazonata (Saunders) is a serious pest attacking a wide range of fruits. Field experiments were carried out, at Mansoura district, Dakahlia Governorate, Egypt to evaluate the efficiency of di- ammonium phosphate, ammonium carbonate and ammonium acetate in enhancing GF-120, as insecticidal bait, for B. zonata based on their pH level under high and low population levels of B. zonata. Results showed that di-ammonium phosphate enhanced the attractiveness of GF-120 the most, followed by ammonium carbonate and ammonium acetate. Without adding any of the ammonium compounds to the GF-120 bait, the bait attracted the fewest B. zonata flies regardless of population levels. As the concentrations of ammonium compounds increased, the pH-level increased as well in the prepared GF-120 solutions, resultin...