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: Diabetic Mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder that has attracted worldwide concern. DM is caused due to lack of insulin or ineffective production of insulin in the pancreas. A total of 463 million people have diabetes mellitus in 2019 and it was predictedto raise upto 578 million by 2030 and 700 million by 2045. High blood sugar gives rise to many complications like diabetic retinopathy, diabetic nephropathy, atherosclerosis, hypercoagulability, cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, abdominal obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, cerebrovascular disease, coronary artery disease, foot damage, skin complications, Alzheimer’s disease, hearing impairment, and depression. These life-threatening complications make diabetes more severe than other diseases. Many synthetic drugs are developed, but still cure is not provided by any of the molecules up to this date. Continuous use of some synthetic agents caused many severe side effects, and thus the demands for non-toxic, affordable drugs are still awaited. Traditional treatments have been an extremely valued source of medicine all over the human history. These are extensively used throughout the world indicating that herbs are a growing part of modern and high-tech medicines. The World Health Organization (WHO) has listed a total of 21,000 plants, which are used for medicinal purposes around the world, among them more than 400 plants are available for the treatment of diabetes. Despite the fact that there are many herbal drugs are available for treating diabetes, only a small number of these plants have received scientific and medical evaluation to assess their efficacy. Trigonella foenum-graecum, Allium sativum, Caesalpinia bonduc, Ferrulaassafoetida, etc., are some of the medicinal plants used for antidiabetic therapy. The presence of phenolic compounds, flavonoids, terpenoids and coumarins are responsible for the antidiabetic nature of the medicinal plants. These constituents have shown a reduction in blood glucose levels. Picnogenol, acarbose, miglitol, and voglibose are some of the examples of marketed drugs, which are obtained from the natural origin and used as antidiabetic drugs. The active principles derived from the plants work through many antidiabetic mechanisms, which include inhibition of α-glucosidase, α-amylase, and protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B activities. One of the major advantages of herbal drugs is the low level of side effects attributed to these medicines, and this attracted the various researchers to develop new molecules for treatment of diabetes. In this review, emphasis will be given on the recent advances in the field of herbal drugs to treat diabetes, to prevent the secondary complications arising due to diabetes, and various herbal molecules in different stages of clinical trials.

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Nowadays, Covalent-Organic Frameworks (COFs) are deemed to be the utmost trending and leading materials worldwide, counting on their highly porous nature and phenomenal thermodynamic stability. Owing to a highly ordered organic network having diverse strong covalent linkages, these materials have elucidated their suitability in photoelectricity, drug delivery, semiconductors, gas storage and separation, emission, proton conduction, catalysis, etc. To add on the functionality, these materials are been coupled with other functional materials to amalgamate COFs composites. Such COFs composites offer countless opportunities for valuable applications. Herein, in this review we report and underpin the existing synthesis methods for COFs and their composites along with their analytical applications in various fields with special reference to separation and sensing. A conclusive discussion on their future perspectives and challenges is made to benefit the readers.

Dipeptidyl Peptidase is one of the novel targets for antidiabetic and anticancer drugs. The dipeptidyl amminopeptidase IV, expressed in mammalian, releases X-Pro/Ala dipeptides from the N-terminus of peptides. It is responsible for the degradation of the incretin hormones which regulate blood glucose level. At present several DPP-IV inhibitors are approved for type-2 diabetes mellitus. These enzymes are also expressed in dimeric form on the surface of different cells (mature thymocytes, activated T cells, B cells, NK cells, macrophages, renal, prostate, liver and small intestinal epithelium, biliary canaliculae, and splenic sinus lining cells). Disruption of the local signaling environment is emerging as a major contributory factor in cancer development and significant modifier of the host's response. The focus of this review is on recent medicinal aspects of type-2 diabetes and cancer therapy as well as designing of DPP-IV inhibitors.

Rubber nanocomposites based on bromobutyl rubber (BIIR), polyepichlorohydrin rubber (CO), carbon black (CB), and organically modified montmorillonite clay (NC) were prepared via melt compounding technique. Effects of NC dosage on various properties of the developed BIIR-CO nanocomposites were studied. Morphological characteristics of the BIIR-CO nanocomposite revealed a good level of clay dispersion. Scanning electron microscopy analyses of the tensile fractured surfaces of the nanocomposites revealed the existence of a good interaction between NC-CB. Hybrid microstructure development between NC and CB, clay exfoliation, and improved filler dispersion in the quaternary nanocomposite significantly contributed to the overall enhancement of properties. The addition of nanoclay increases the modulus up to 54%, tear strength up to 20%, and other physicomechanical properties of the rubber nanocomposite. However, higher nanoclay dose results in the agglomeration of clay particles predominantly. An increase in the volume fraction of nanoclay platelets depreciates the thermal degradation of the BIIR-CO nanocomposites. The tortuous path offered by NC is pivotal in the significant reduction in the water vapor transmission rate (up to 30% reduction). Contact angle measurements reveal the importance of nanoclay dispersion in subsiding the surface hydrophilic nature of the nanocomposite.

Context:Pityriasis versicolor is a superficial, chronically recurring fungal infection caused by Malassezia species. Recently it has been revised taxanomically into 14 species, in that only 7 species have been well studied in relation to pityriasis versicolor.Aims:To identify Malassezia species isolated from patients with pityriasis versicolor and to find out any correlation between the species with clinical presentation of lesions.Settings and Design:Prospective study comprising of 100 clinically diagnosed cases of pityriasis versicolor attending Dermatology Outpatient Department over a period of 1 year.Materials and Methods:The clinical specimens were collected under aseptic precautions and subjected to culture on Sabouraud's Dextrose Agar overlaid with olive oil and modified Dixon agar. The isolates were identified by biochemical tests.Statistical Analysis Used:Statistical analysis was done using proportion, mean and chi-square test.Results:Of the 100 cases, 73% were males, 26% were females and predominant age group was 21-30 years. Out of 100 samples, 70 yielded growth. The most common isolate was M. sympodialis (50%), followed by M. furfur (32.86%), M. globosa (14.28%) and M. slooffiae (2.86%). Among 100 cases, 74% had hypopigmented and 26% had hyperpigmented lesions. M. sympodialis and M. furur were predominantly isolated from hypopigmented lesions and M. globosa and M. slooffiae were found to be more common in hyperpigmented lesions.Conclusions:M. sympodialis was the most common isolate, followed by M. furfur, M. globosa and M. slooffiae. There was no significant difference in distribution of different species in patients with hypo or hyper pigmented lesions

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