Objectives Jatrorrhizine is an isoquinoline alkaloid found in medicinal plants. It is the main bioactive compound of the Chinese herbs, Coptis chinensis, Rhizoma coptidis, and Phellodendron chinense Schneid, plants that are predominantly used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for the treatment of metabolic disorders, gastritis, stomachache among a host of others. This manuscript aims to provide a comprehensive review of the pharmacological effects of jatrorrhizine, proffer suggestions on research areas that need redress and potentially serve as a reference for future studies. Key findings Published scientific literature was therefore retrieved from all credible sources including Pubmed, Elsevier, Research Gate, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Europe PMC and Wiley Online library using key words such as ‘jatrorrhizine’, ‘botanical sources’, ‘pharmacology’, ‘toxicology’, ‘pharmacokinetics’ or their combinations. A cursory examination of relevant scientific literature using the aforementioned key words produced more than 400 publications. Conclusions Using an inclusion/exclusion criteria the subject matter of this review was adequately addressed. It is our hope that this review will provide a good platform for further research on fully harnessing the potential of this bioactive compound.
Research into the application of nanocarriers in the delivery of cancer-fighting drugs has been a promising research area for decades. On the other hand, their cytotoxic effects on cells, low uptake efficiency, and therapeutic resistance have limited their therapeutic use. However, the urgency of pressing healthcare needs has resulted in the functionalization of nanoparticles’ (NPs) physicochemical properties to improve clinical outcomes of new, old, and repurposed drugs. This article reviews recent research on methods for targeting functionalized nanoparticles to the tumor microenvironment (TME). Additionally, the use of relevant engineering techniques for surface functionalization of nanocarriers (liposomes, dendrimers, and mesoporous silica) and their critical roles in overcoming the current limitations in cancer therapy—targeting ligands used for targeted delivery, stimuli strategies, and multifunctional nanoparticles—were all reviewed. The limitations and future perspectives of functionalized nanoparticles were also finally discussed. Using relevant keywords, published scientific literature from all credible sources was retrieved. A quick search of the literature yielded almost 400 publications. The subject matter of this review was addressed adequately using an inclusion/exclusion criterion. The content of this review provides a reasonable basis for further studies to fully exploit the potential of these nanoparticles in cancer therapy.
Background. The rising incidence of hypertension and diabetes calls for a global response. Hypertension and diabetes will rise in Ghana as the population ages, urbanization increases, and people lead unhealthy lives. Our goal was to create a time series algorithm that effectively predicts future increases to help preventative medicine and health care intervention strategies by preparing health care practitioners to control health problems. Methods. Data on hypertension and diabetes from January 2016 to December 2020 were obtained from three health facilities. To detect patterns and predict data from a particular time series, three forecasting algorithms (SARIMAX (seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average with exogenous components), ARIMA (autoregressive integrated moving average), and LSTM (long short-term memory networks)) were implemented. We assessed the model’s ability to perform by calculating the root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), mean square error (MSE), and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). Results. The RMSE, MSE, MAE, and MAPE for ARIMA (5, 2, 4), SARIMAX 1 , 1 , 1 × 1 , 1 , 1 , 7 , and LSTM was 28, 769.02, 22, and 7%, 67, 4473, 56, and 14%, and 36, 1307, 27, and 8.6%, respectively. We chose ARIMA (5, 2, 4) as a more suitable model due to its lower error metrics when compared to the others. Conclusion. All models had promising predictability and predicted a rise in the number of cases in the future, and this was essential for administrative and management planning. For appropriate and efficient strategic planning and control, the prognosis was useful enough than would have been possible without it.
ObjectiveLow awareness of hypertension and diabetes is a public health concern in Ghana. Assessing the general population’s behaviour via knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) will be invaluable in these diseases, where prevention and control need a lifelong commitment to a healthy lifestyle. Hence, our goal was to assess the behaviour of Akatsi South residents towards the diseases to assist health providers in implementing tailored intervention programs.MethodsThis was a population-based cross-sectional study with 150 adults (18–70 years) from November to December 2021. A semi-structured questionnaire with face-to-face interviews was used to obtain data. All variables in the model had descriptive statistics. The Chi-square (χ2) test was used to examine correlations between variables, and a value of p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The factors associated with checking blood sugar levels and blood pressure were determined using binary logistic regression.ResultsThe respondents’ mean age and BMI were 32.40 years (± 12.07) and 24.98 kg/m2 (± 2.36), respectively. Only 46.67% of the respondents frequently monitor their blood pressure and 17.33% their blood glucose (at least once a year). Less than half of those surveyed had a good knowledge of hypertension (42.7%) and diabetes (32.0%), whereas nearly 3/4 had poor attitudes regarding both conditions. A binary logistic regression analysis revealed that having a good attitude toward hypertension (exp B = 2.479, p = 0.036) and diabetes (exp B = 4.547, p = 0.009) were the participants’ strongest predictor of blood pressure and sugar level checks. However, being overweight (exp B = 0.046, p = 0.002,) or obese (exp B = 0.144, p = 0.034) negatively influenced the frequency with which our respondents checked their blood glucose levels.ConclusionIn the study, we found that the population generally has poor knowledge, which affects their behaviour (attitudes and practices) towards the diseases. To enable healthcare practitioners to reduce disease-associated mortality and morbidity in the future, frequent public health education and promotion about the conditions is critical to closing the knowledge gap.
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