The authors analyze the recent undertaking in El Salvador to establish an innovative model of industry–higher education clusters that would facilitate collaboration between academia and the private sector – sectors that traditionally had not worked together because of historical distrust – to develop the skilled workforce needed for the country’s future economic growth. Under the USAID Higher Education for Economic Growth project implemented by RTI International, clusters were put forth as the platform for building sustainable partnerships between industry and higher education – facilitating dialogue, stepping into each other’s world and collaboration on curriculum planning, student internships, and applied research. The clusters have pushed Salvadoran universities to become more agile organizations, able to pivot to meet industry skills demands, and industries to recognize universities’ contributions to the creation of value for increased productivity. The El Salvador case is a collaborative multi-stakeholder model to meet workplace requirements for high-growth industries in low- to middle-income economies.
Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disorder known for prolonged joint inflammation and deformity condition. Currently, Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatment in RA patients is preferred. Objectives: The research focuses on exploring the combination (curcumin (200mg/kg), piperine (10mg/kg), and ferrous sulphate (0.1mg/kg) potential in the adjuvant-induced arthritis model (AIA) compared with disease control and prednisone acetate (standard 5 mg/kg) in the adjuvant-induced arthritis model (AIA). Materials and Methods: Male Wistar rats in each group was treated with standard, curcumin, piperine, and ferrous sulphate individually as well as in combination for 28 days after the induction of arthritis. Evaluation parameters were body weight, paw edema, mobility condition, and stair climbing test. Furthermore, Red Blood Cells (RBCs), White Blood Cells (WBCs), immune organ index (spleen and thymus) was elucidated. The study was concluded with histopathology, X-ray radiography, Tumour Necrosis Factor α (TNF α), and Interleukin-1beta (IL-β) examination. Results: The combination showed significance with the gradual increase in body weight and mobility (7 th day), whereas the conditions of paw edema and stair climbing were found effective (28 th day). RBC and WBC counts were found to be clinically significant. The combination was found to be highly significant in estimation of immune organ index. Combination showed significant change in infiltration of inflammatory cells, joint space, and minimal erosion in bone indicating satisfactory anti-arthritic effects. Furthermore, the combination showed improvement in joint radiodensity and narrowing in joint space. The level of TNF-α and IL-1β were found significant. Conclusion: The combination showed antiinflammatory and anti-arthritic activity.
COVID-19 caused by novel corona virus (SARS-CoV-2) is the major pandemic of the decade claiming millions of lives causing severe disruptions to society. Despite rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines, condition is still not under control and newer antiviral drugs are required. In the present work, we describe the design and synthesis of Diphenyl-1H-imidazole derivatives as a potential lead series for SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro enzyme inhibition. The synthesized molecules were screened for SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro enzyme inhibition at 20µM concentration. All the synthesized compounds (6-14) showed inhibition in the range of 88 to 99%. They were further tested for anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity against ancestral Wuhan and the Delta variants in virus infected cells. The compounds 4-(4-hlorophenyl)-2-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-1H-imidazole (9), 4-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-2-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-1H-imidazole (10), 4-(4-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-1H-imidazol-2-yl)benzene-1,2-diol (14) showed promising activity against both Wuhan (IC50: 7.7 µM, 12.6 µM and 11.8 µM, respectively) and Delta (IC50: 7.4 µM, 13.8 µM and 12.1 µM, respectively) variant of COVID-19. Our results demonstrate efficacy of diphenyl-1H-imidazole derivatives as promising ligands for further development and optimization against COVID-19.
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