CHARACTERIZATION OF PARTIALLY PURIFIED TYROSINASE ISOLATED FROM BITTER KOLA (GARCINIA KOLA)

Objective: Tyrosinase is a glycosylated, copper-containing oxidase that catalyzes the first two steps of mammalian melanogenesis as well as enzymatic browning events in damaged fruits during post-harvest handling and processing. Human skin hyperpigmentation and enzymatic browning in fruits are both undesirable. In this study, the properties and inhibitory effect of some compounds on bitter kola tyrosinase were investigated. Methods: Bitter kola tyrosinase was isolated and characterized using standard protocols. Partial purification was carried out on Sephadex G-100 loaded column chromatography. Results: Bitter kola tyrosinase was purified with a specific activity of 3.5 U/mg protein, purification fold of 2.4 and a yield of 34%. The optimum pH value was found to be 6.0 while the optimum temperature value for maximum enzyme activity was observed at 60°C. The enzyme was stable at 40oC for 20 minutes. Metals such as NaCl, KCl, MgCl2 and CaCl2 had inhibitory effect on the activity; though MgCl2 and CaCl2 had minimal effect. Also, EDTA, β-marcaptoethanol and glutathione greatly inhibited the enzyme activity at all the tested concentration. Conclusion: The properties of bitter kola tyrosinase compare very well with the tyrosinase from other sources. Also, the study was able to establish the inhibitory effect of some compounds and this could be applied in food processing industries. Peer Review History: Received: 2 November 2021; Revised: 11 December; Accepted: 25 December, Available online: 15 January 2022 Academic Editor: Dr. A.A. Mgbahurike, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, [email protected] UJPR follows the most transparent and toughest ‘Advanced OPEN peer review’ system. The identity of the authors and, reviewers will be known to each other. This transparent process will help to eradicate any possible malicious/purposeful interference by any person (publishing staff, reviewer, editor, author, etc) during peer review. As a result of this unique system, all reviewers will get their due recognition and respect, once their names are published in the papers. We expect that, by publishing peer review reports with published papers, will be helpful to many authors for drafting their article according to the specifications. Auhors will remove any error of their article and they will improve their article(s) according to the previous reports displayed with published article(s). The main purpose of it is ‘to improve the quality of a candidate manuscript’. Our reviewers check the ‘strength and weakness of a manuscript honestly’. There will increase in the perfection, and transparency. Received file: Reviewer's Comments: Average Peer review marks at initial stage: 6.0/10 Average Peer review marks at publication stage: 7.5/10 Reviewers: Dr. Nazim Hussain, North East Frontier Technical University, Arunachal pradesh, India, [email protected] Ahmad Najib, Universitas Muslim Indonesia, Makassar, Indonesia, [email protected] Prof. Dr. Ali Gamal Ahmed Al-kaf, Sana'a university, Yemen, [email protected] Similar Articles: PHYTOCHEMICAL PURIFICATION OF ACTIVE CONSTITUENTS ISOLATED FROM ROOT OF THE MEDICINAL HERB, CARALLUMA QUADRANGULA

PRE- AND POST-MARKETING CONTROL OF DRUG QUALITY AT THE NATIONAL HEALTH LABORATORY, BAMAKO-MALI

Background and Objectives: In a world marked by the spread of counterfeiting and substandard drugs, often without active ingredients or falsified active ingredients, greater vigilance by pharmaceutical regulatory authorities is necessary. The National Health Laboratory (LNS), in accordance with its mission, takes samples throughout the country in order to ensure their quality control. Methods: Samples were taken in certain regions and the district of Bamako and analyzed according to the standards of the United State Pharmacopoeia (USP), British Pharmacopoeia (BP) and International Pharmacopoeia (IP)by identification and assay methods. Products that do not meet the required specifications described by these pharmacopoeias are declared non-compliant. Results: This allowed us to analyze a total of 617 samples with 11 cases of non-compliance for a rate of 2%. The causes of the non-conformities were due to the absence of an active ingredient, an under-dosage of the active ingredient and technical and regulatory defects. Conclusion: After one year of activity, our results showed that out of a total of 617 drug samples collected and analyzed, 606 were compliant with a rate of 98% against 11 cases of non-compliance or 2% (p ≤ 0,05). The causes of the non-compliance were due to the absence of an active ingredient, an under-dosage of the active ingredient and technical and regulatory defects. Peer Review History: Received: 20 November 2021; Revised: 18 December; Accepted: 31 December, Available online: 15 January 2022 Academic Editor: Dr. Asia Selman Abdullah, Pharmacy institute, University of Basrah, Iraq, [email protected] UJPR follows the most transparent and toughest ‘Advanced OPEN peer review’ system. The identity of the authors and, reviewers will be known to each other. This transparent process will help to eradicate any possible malicious/purposeful interference by any person (publishing staff, reviewer, editor, author, etc) during peer review. As a result of this unique system, all reviewers will get their due recognition and respect, once their names are published in the papers. We expect that, by publishing peer review reports with published papers, will be helpful to many authors for drafting their article according to the specifications. Auhors will remove any error of their article and they will improve their article(s) according to the previous reports displayed with published article(s). The main purpose of it is ‘to improve the quality of a candidate manuscript’. Our reviewers check the ‘strength and weakness of a manuscript honestly’. There will increase in the perfection, and transparency. Received file: Reviewer's Comments: Average Peer review marks at initial stage: 5.5/10 Average Peer review marks at publication stage: 7.0/10 Reviewers: Dr. Govind Vyas, Compliance & Regulatory Officer Inva-Tech Pharmaceuticals LLC, New-Jersey, USA, [email protected] Dr. Muhammad Zahid Iqbal, AIMST University, Malaysia, [email protected] Dr. Bilge Ahsen KARA, Ankara Gazi Mustafa Kemal Hospital, Turkey, [email protected] Dr. Mohammad Bayan, Faculty of Pharmacy, Philadelphia University, P.O. Box: 1 Philadelphia University 19392 Jordan, [email protected] Similar Articles: ASSESSMENT OF COMMUNITY PHARMACIST AWARENESS ON ADVERSE DRUG REACTION (ADR) AND PHARMACOVIGILANCE REPORTING SYSTEM IN KHARTOUM LOCALITY, SUDAN THE EFFICIENCY OF INEFFICIENCY: MEDICINE DISTRIBUTION IN SUDAN

COVID-19 PANDEMIC AWARENESS AND ITS IMPACT ON BANGLADESHI PEOPLE: A COMMUNITY BASED SURVEY

Background: The present study has been carried out to find out the people’s perception about the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of this pandemic on their daily lives. Methods: A Google form was used to create an online survey questionnaire distributed via personal relationships and social media. Data were collected using questionnaires consisting of socio-demographic status of participants, COVID-19 concepts and changes in the participants’ lifestyle. A total of 1088 respondents took part in the survey, and the results were evaluated using several statistical approaches. The results were presented in a variety of tables and graphs. Results: Males made up 53.3% of the participants, while females made up 46.7% who were from villages (29.87%), cities (53.77%), and semi-urban areas (16.36%). Most participants reported that they got information about the COVID-19 pandemic from social media, and they cited 'fever' as an indicator of the sickness. Although the amount of physical interactions with friends and family has not dropped much, working conditions and employment status have significantly altered. The majority of the participants claimed they have no concerns about the COVID-19. Conclusion: For up-to-date information regarding COVID-19, people in Bangladesh from all walks of life rely largely on social media. COVID-19 awareness isn't enough to inhibit the spreading of the virus from community to community. Employees' work schedules have also been drastically altered. To prevent transmission, we should all follow the safety rules strictly. Peer Review History: Received: 4 November 2021; Revised: 17 December; Accepted: 28 December, Available online: 15 January 2022 Academic Editor: Dr. Muhammad Zahid Iqbal, AIMST University, Malaysia, [email protected] UJPR follows the most transparent and toughest ‘Advanced OPEN peer review’ system. The identity of the authors and, reviewers will be known to each other. This transparent process will help to eradicate any possible malicious/purposeful interference by any person (publishing staff, reviewer, editor, author, etc) during peer review. As a result of this unique system, all reviewers will get their due recognition and respect, once their names are published in the papers. We expect that, by publishing peer review reports with published papers, will be helpful to many authors for drafting their article according to the specifications. Auhors will remove any error of their article and they will improve their article(s) according to the previous reports displayed with published article(s). The main purpose of it is ‘to improve the quality of a candidate manuscript’. Our reviewers check the ‘strength and weakness of a manuscript honestly’. There will increase in the perfection, and transparency. Received file: Reviewer's Comments: Average Peer review marks at initial stage: 5.5/10 Average Peer review marks at publication stage: 7.0/10 Reviewers: Dr. Eyassu Mathewos, School of public health, college of health sciences and medicine, Wolaita Soddo university- P.O. Box 158, Wolaita Soddo, Ethiopia. Dr. Barkat Ali Khan, Kampala International University , Uganda, [email protected] Similar Articles: COVID-19: PHARMACOLOGICAL AND THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES COVID-19 IN MEXICO: PREPARING FOR FUTURE PANDEMICS

ACQUIRED NEONATAL SEVERE FACTOR II DEFICIENCY- TWO CASES REPORT

In present study two cases of transient acquired and isolated factor II deficiency associated with severe bleeding are reported. Two infants were involved in severe coagulopathy. The blood clot time (CT) in case 2 was excessively prolonged over 16 hours. One-stage prothrombin time (PT) was remarkable prolonged. Haemostatic markers analysis showed an isolated deficiency of factor II at 2.5% and 4.5% respectively. No inhibitory activity against factor II could be detected. We successfully treated the deficiency with vitamin K1 during 15 days. It was interesting that in the case 2 female baby the cause of vitamin K deficiency might be breast feed problem (nutrition deficiency) and/or poor absorption from bowel. Physiopathological laboratory results and therapeutic aspects of two patients were presented. Peer Review History: Received: 1 November 2021; Revised: 9 December; Accepted: 28 December, Available online: 15 January 2022 Academic Editor: Dr. Sally A. El-Zahaby, Pharos University in Alexandria, Egypt, [email protected] UJPR follows the most transparent and toughest ‘Advanced OPEN peer review’ system. The identity of the authors and, reviewers will be known to each other. This transparent process will help to eradicate any possible malicious/purposeful interference by any person (publishing staff, reviewer, editor, author, etc) during peer review. As a result of this unique system, all reviewers will get their due recognition and respect, once their names are published in the papers. We expect that, by publishing peer review reports with published papers, will be helpful to many authors for drafting their article according to the specifications. Auhors will remove any error of their article and they will improve their article(s) according to the previous reports displayed with published article(s). The main purpose of it is ‘to improve the quality of a candidate manuscript’. Our reviewers check the ‘strength and weakness of a manuscript honestly’. There will increase in the perfection, and transparency. Received file: Reviewer's Comments: Average Peer review marks at initial stage: 6.0/10 Average Peer review marks at publication stage: 7.0/10 Reviewers: Prof. Dr. Hassan A.H. Al-Shamahy, Sana'a University, Yemen, [email protected] Dr. Ogbonna B. Onyebuchi, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria, [email protected]

Usher Syndrome

Usher syndrome (USH) is the most common genetic condition responsible for combined loss of hearing and vision. Balance disorders and bilateral vestibular areflexia are also observed in some cases. The syndrome was first described by Albrecht von Graefe in 1858, but later named by Charles Usher, who presented a large number of cases with hearing loss and retinopathy in 1914. USH has been grouped into three main clinical types: 1, 2, and 3, which are caused by mutations in different genes and are further divided into different subtypes. To date, nine causative genes have been identified and confirmed as responsible for the syndrome when mutated: MYO7A, USH1C, CDH23, PCDH15, and USH1G (SANS) for Usher type 1; USH2A, ADGRV1, and WHRN for Usher type 2; CLRN1 for Usher type 3. USH is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern. Digenic, bi-allelic, and polygenic forms have also been reported, in addition to dominant or nonsyndromic forms of genetic mutations. This narrative review reports the causative forms, diagnosis, prognosis, epidemiology, rehabilitation, research, and new treatments of USH.

Preface

The Program Committee warmly welcomes all our distinguished delegates and guests to attend the 2021 2nd International Conference on Physics and Engineering Mathematics (ICPEM 2021), the Online International Conference to be held on November 13th-14th, 2021. ICPEM is an annual event that focuses on the various state-of-the-art advances and innovations in Applied Physics and Engineering Mathematics. It aims to provide a forum for researchers, engineers and academicians to exchange new ideas and application experiences, establish business or research relations and find global partners for future collaboration in the fields of Physics and Engineering Mathematics. The ICPEM 2021 conference received around 141 submissions from all over the world; all submissions went through a rigorous peer review process where each submitted paper was reviewed by at least two experts from the area. Based on the review reports, 69 papers were selected for oral presentation in the conference and included in the Proceedings of 2021 2nd International Conference on Physics and Engineering Mathematics. On behalf of the Program Committee of the 2021 2nd International Conference on Physics and Engineering Mathematics, we would like to thank all the people who have contributed to the conference this year. In particular, we would like to thank all referees for their review work. We would like to thank the keynote speakers and session chairs for spending their valuable time to support the conference. We also would like to thank all the authors for contributing their papers to the conference. Finally, we are particularly grateful to all the organizers and sponsoring institutions for the generous support they have offered to this conference. We hope and believe that every participant will enjoy the academic atmosphere brought by the contributors of the conference. We look forward to a more successful conference next year. The Organizing Committee of ICPEM2021

Can a paid model for peer review be sustainable when the author can decide whether to pay or not?

Given how hard it is to recruit good reviewers who are aligned with authors in their functions, journal editors could consider the use of better incentives, such as paying reviewers for their time. In order to facilitate a speedy turn-around when a rapid decision is required, the peer-reviewed journal can also offer a review model in which selected peer reviewers are compensated to deliver high-quality and timely peer-review reports. In this paper, we consider a peer-reviewed journal in which the manuscript’s evaluation consists of a necessary peer review component and an optional speedy peer review component. We model and study that journal under two different scenarios to be compared: a paid peer-reviewing scenario that is considered as the benchmark; and a hybrid peer-review scenario where the manuscript’s author can decide whether to pay or not. In the benchmark scenario of paid peer-reviewing, the scholarly journal expects all authors to pay for the peer review and charges separately for the necessary and the optional speedy peer-review components. Alternatively, in a hybrid peer-review scenario, the peer-reviewed journal gives the option to the authors to not pay for the necessary peer review if they are not able to pay. This will determine an altruistic amplification of pay utility. However, the no-pay authors cannot avail of the optional speedy peer review, which determines a restriction-induced no-pay utility reduction. In this paper, we find that under the hybrid setting of compensated peer review where the author can decide whether to pay or not, the optimal price and review quality of the optional speedy peer review are always higher than under the benchmark scenario of paid peer-reviewing, due to the altruistic amplification of pay utility. Our results show that when the advantage of adopting the hybrid mode of compensated peer review is higher due to the higher difference between the altruistic author utility amplification and the restriction-induced no-pay utility reduction, the journal can increase its profitability by increasing the price for the necessary peer review above that in the benchmark scenario of paid peer review. A key insight from our results is the journal’s capability to increase the number of paying authors by giving the option to the authors to not pay for the necessary peer review if they are not able to pay.

Patients’ Experience of Systemic Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Review of the Impact on Quality of Life

Quality of life (QoL) in oncology is an outcome becoming more and more important and relevant to explore. Some studies have demonstrated its prognostic impact in different cancers, such as colorectal, breast, and prostate cancers, but also in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Different tools have been developed for assessing quality of life, some general, such as EORTC QLQ-C30, but also specific tools depending on cancer origin which seem to be more pertinent for patients. Systemic treatments and specific symptoms due to cancer evolution could decrease quality of life. For approval of new systemic treatments, authorities ask for benefit in terms of efficacy but also benefit in quality of life, which is crucial for patients. This review reports data about QoL in HCC, including specific tools used, impact of systemic treatments and prognosis for QoL for HCC patients. Management of adverse events is essential to enhance compliance with treatment and quality of life. Assessing quality of life in clinical trials appears quite systematic, but its application in clinical routine requires development.

A Review on the Design and Performance of Enzyme-Aided Catalysis of Carbon Dioxide in Membrane, Electrochemical Cell and Photocatalytic Reactors

Multi-enzyme cascade catalysis involved three types of dehydrogenase enzymes, namely, formate dehydrogenase (FDH), formaldehyde dehydrogenase (FaldDH), alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), and an equimolar electron donor, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH), assisting the reaction is an interesting pathway to reduce thermodynamically stable molecules of CO2 from the atmosphere. The biocatalytic sequence is interesting because it operates under mild reaction conditions (low temperature and pressure) and all the enzymes are highly selective, which allows the reaction to produce three basic chemicals (formic acid, formaldehyde, and methanol) in just one pot. There are various challenges, however, in applying the enzymatic conversion of CO2, namely, to obtain high productivity, increase reusability of the enzymes and cofactors, and to design a simple, facile, and efficient reactor setup that will sustain the multi-enzymatic cascade catalysis. This review reports on enzyme-aided reactor systems that support the reduction of CO2 to methanol. Such systems include enzyme membrane reactors, electrochemical cells, and photocatalytic reactor systems. Existing reactor setups are described, product yields and biocatalytic productivities are evaluated, and effective enzyme immobilization methods are discussed.

A Case for Increased Rigor in AAC Research: A Methodological Quality Review

This comprehensive review reports on methodological quality of 162 single-case studies on augmentative and alternative communication for communication and challenging behavior in individuals diagnosed with autism or intellectual disabilities and with complex communication needs. Following review for inclusion criteria, documents were excluded if they failed to meet basic methodological standards. Each remaining study was evaluated for 10 detailed quality criteria. No studies met all standards without reservations. Only three of the included studies met all of the standards with reservations and the remainder met some but not all standards, with or without reservations. The included studies reported adequate detail for half of the quality indicators, but insufficient details for participant, setting, maintenance, and generalization, and social validity descriptions. An increased quantity and quality of research were found in over four decades. More recent studies have adequately reported half of the criteria investigated, including describing the materials, defining the outcome variables, describing baseline and intervention procedures, and evaluating procedural integrity. After identifying quality features, the authors report in more detail on low rated quality indicators particularly relevant to studies addressing social-communication interventions. The literature infrequently reported race, ethnicity, or home language. Future research should report characteristics of participants to ensure that research becomes representative of the population.