Mayonnaise is a popular condiment containing 65–75% oil by weight. The aim of the study was to develop a low fat (75% fat‐replaced) mayonnaise using chemically modified octenyl‐succinic anhydride (OSA) corn and OSA‐sorghum starches. Secondly, the functional properties of native and modified corn and sorghum starches were also compared. The setback viscosity of OSA‐sorghum starch was found to be the least while the textural changes in OSA‐sorghum on cold storage were found to be negligible. Overall acceptability of low fat mayonnaise (LFM) was scored higher than full‐fat mayonnaise (FFM). But the textural attributes of LFM made from OSA‐sorghum were found to be quite similar to FFM.

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Extracts, fractions and gastrointestinal-resistant protein hydrolysates (GRPH) from rice bran (RB) of four Sri Lankan traditional varieties were studied for growth inhibition (GI) and cytotoxicity against human lung cancer (NCI-H460), cervical cancer (HeLa) cell lines and effect on glutathione S-transferase (GST) in vitro. RB extracts showed significantly high (P < 0.05) GI (GI50 μg/mL: HeLa: 19.24 ± 3.47 to 112.58 ± 0.05; NCI-H460: 54.63 ± 4.89 to 170.31 ± 4.71) and cytotoxicity (LC50 μg/mL: HeLa: 240.12 ± 9.23 to 476.22 ± 0.05; NCI-H460: 255.36 ± 1.81 to 412.07 ± 17.73) compared with GRPH. Highest GI (GI50: 30.63 ± 9.19 to 44.40 ± 5.34 μg/mL) and cytotoxicity (LC50: 141.31 ± 14.47 to 169.51 ± 2.04 μg/mL) was evident in nonpolar fractions (dichloromethane: Goda Heeneti and Sudu Heeneti; hexane: Dik Wee and Sudu Heeneti). No cytotoxicity was evident to normal cells. All RB extracts had high GST inhibition. Properties observed indicate its usefulness in managing lung and cervical cancers. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSLung and cervical cancers are two of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in men and women, respectively, and leading causes of mortality. Although numerous potent chemotherapeutic drugs are available for management, most of these drugs are very expensive and are associated with numerous side effects. Further, anticancer drugs containing electrophilic centers can easily form a conjugate with glutathione, which is facilitated by glutathione S-transferase (GST) and excreted from the body resulting in lower efficacy. Therefore, GST inhibitors are used as adjuvants during cancer chemotherapy. The selected rice varieties in this study claimed to possess health-enhancing properties according to Sri Lankan ethnomedicine. The findings of this study clearly showed that bran extracts, fractions and gastrointestinal-resistant protein hydrolysates of selected rice varieties had growth inhibition and cytotoxicity against both lung and cervical cancers. Further, all of these selected varieties had high GST inhibition. Therefore, selected rice brans may be useful in the management of lung and cervical cancers.

Nanotechnology is advancing rapidly with applications in various fields. Silver (Ag) nanoparticles are known for their pronounced impact in pharmaceutical industry owing to its strong antimicrobial activity. Antimicrobial resistance of drugs has shifted the focus of the scientific community to the search of novel bioactive compounds from medicinal plants with more potential to treat various ailments. Candida species are widely recognized as pathogens accountable for high morbidity and persistent infection. In this study we elucidated the robustness of biogenic silver nanoparticles synthesized using Rosemarinus officinalis against pathogenic Candida species. We tested and compared the impact of 161 µg/mL, 270 µg/mL concentrations of silver nanoparticles and characterized the particles using UV-VIS Spectrophotometer and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The antifungal activity of the Silver nanoparticles was tested against Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, Candida glabrata and Candida krusei using Agar well diffusion method. The synthesized nanoparticles were spherically shaped with size ranging from 75-98 nm. The results revealed high efficacy of 161 µg/mL silver nanoparticles against C. albicans, C. tropicalis, and C. krusei compared to 270 µg/mL Ag nanoparticle. Silver nanoparticles can be used as a therapeutic drug instead of synthetic drugs due to its reduced toxicity and adverse effects. Search of naive plants as novel therapeutic agents can open new avenues in drug development to combat antibiotic resistance.

Flooding is among the most catastrophic and common natural events. It not only endangers human lives, their livelihoods, and possessions but also devastates the nation's economy. Increased flooding is an inevitable consequence of climate change. Hence, Identification of flood suspectable hotspots is vital for flood risk management along with disaster handling. The primary objective of this research is to use a frequency ratio model to classify flood-prone zones in two provinces of Pakistan. The flood inventory map was developed using 230 flood location points in Northern Sindh and Southern Punjab. Aspect, profile curvature, elevation, slope, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), normalized difference soil index (NDSI), distance from the road, distance from the river, land use/land cover (LULC) and rainfall were among the ten (10) determining factors. The data were randomly divided into two distinct datasets, with 70% flood points (161) used for inventory formulation and the other 30% (69 flood points) for result validation. The flood vulnerability map was categorized into five different zones ranging from very low (19.73%) to very high (20.37%) susceptibility range. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) and area under curve (AUC) was used to demonstrate the prediction result that yielded a reasonable score of 77.4%. The study suggested that in comparison to other studied districts, Jacobabad is the most prone region with acute vulnerability and constrained resilience. The presented data can serve as a source for tracking, assessing, and predicting potential flood activity in the area and could be beneficial for planners and decision-makers involved in early disaster response planning within the country.

Objective: To evaluate the utility of transvaginal ultrasonography (TVS) in assessing the pathologic causes of Abnormal Uterine Bleeding (AUB). Methodology: The descriptive study was conducted in Gynecology Unit Nishtar Hospital Multan from July-2021 to July-2022. A total of 80 women with diagnosis of AUB were recruited. Every patient with an AUB underwent TVS. The thickness of the endometrium, its echogenicity, the size of the uterus, and any uterine or adnexal abnormality observed. Results: Mean age was 46.16±9.50 years with range 25-60 years. Regarding menopausal status, 35 (43.75%) females were pre-menopausal and 45 (56.25%) were post-menopausal.On TVS findings, normal proliferative endometrium was found in 26 (32.5%) cases, endometrial polyps in 22 (27.5%) cases,myomas in 12 (15.0%) cases, hyperplasia in 12 (15.0%) cases, endometrial atrophy in 5 (6.25%) cases, and suspicious looking endometrium in 3 (3.75%) cases. Practical Implications: The study is very useful, knowledgeable, cost efficient and cost effective. Conclusion: TVS is a safe, rapid and cost-effective modality for the diagnosis of endometrial pathologies. Endometrial polyps, myomas and hyperplasia are common cause of AUB. Keywords: Transvaginal ultrasonography, abnormal uterine bleeding, polyps.

Stem cell-based therapy presents an attractive alternative to conventional therapies for degenerative diseases. Numerous studies have investigated the capability of human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) to contribute to the regeneration of cardiomyocytes, and the results have encouraged further basic and clinical studies on the MSC-based treatment of cardiomyopathies. This study aimed to determine the potential of cardiomyogenic transcription factors in differentiating hUC-MSCs into cardiac-like cells in vitro. MSCs were isolated from umbilical cord tissue and were transduced with the transcription factor genes, GATA-4 and Nkx 2.5, via infection with lentiviruses, to promote differentiation into the cardiomyogenic lineage. Gene and protein expression were analysed with qPCR and immunocytochemical staining. After transduction, differentiated cardiac-like cells showed significant expression of cardiac genes and proteins, namely GATA-4, Nkx-2.5, cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and myosin heavy chain (MHC). The cardiomyogenic-induced group significantly overexpressed cardiac-specific genes ( GATA-4, Nkx-2.5, cTnI, MHC, α-actinin and Wnt2). Expression of the calcium channel gene was also significantly increased, while the sodium channel gene was downregulated in the transduced hUC-MSCs, as compared to non-transduced cells. The results suggest that GATA-4 and Nkx-2.5 interact synergistically in the activation of downstream cardiac transcription factors, demonstrating the functional convergence of hUC-MSC differentiation into cardiac-like cells. These findings could potentially be utilised in the efficient production of cardiac-like cells from stem cells; these cardiac-like cells could then be used in various applications, such as for in vivo implantation in infarcted myocardium, and for drug screening in toxicity testing.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality. At present, available therapeutic options for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases are limited and provide solution only to reduce the symptoms of CVD. The indigenous capability of cardiac tissue to meet the degeneration is limited. The feasible option is stem cells based regenerative medicine to repair or regenerate the myocardial cells and restore normal cardiac function. The aim of the present study is to assess the potential of small molecules for the differentiation of MSCs into cardiomyocytes. In this study, MSCs were cultured in vitro and were characterized by immunochemistry, and flow cytometry for the presence of MSCs markers, CD90, CD73, CD44, CD29, and for tri-lineage differentiation. MSCs were treated with wiki-4 for 14 days to induce cardiac differentiation, and were characterized for the presence cardiac markers by gene and protein expression for GATA-4, α-actinin, cTnT, cTnI, and myosin heavy chain, and found positive for these markers. These induced cardiac progenitor cells were transplanted into the infarcted myocardium of rats, where they exhibited increased persistence, engraftment, and homing in the infarcted region, and expressed cardiac markers within the border zone. Transplanted group improved left ventricular wall thickness at 4 weeks post injury, and reduced infarct size. Functional performance of the hearts was analyzed through M-mode echocardiography, which results in significant (p<0.05) improvement in the heart function including left ventricular internal diameter systolic and diastolic, ejection fraction, fractional shortening, end systolic volume and diastolic volume, and stroke volume compared to control. Histological examination of the heart sections 4 weeks post MI showed that MSCs home towards the site of injury. The transplanted cells expressed cardiac markers and contributed to the cardiac tissue recovery. The results of the present study demonstrate that myocytes derived of MSCs enhance the regeneration potential of the infarcted myocardium.