Rajagiri College of Social Sciences

This study investigated the synergistic effects of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and bone-derived biochar amendments for chromium (Cr) remediation in contaminated soils from the heavily polluted Noyyal River sediments, India. Two bacterial strains, Rosellomorea vietnamensis and Bacillus siamensis, were isolated and characterized for their PGPR activities. Goat bone biochar was produced through pyrolysis at 350 °C and applied in combination with bacterial inoculants to Cr-contaminated soil in pot experiments using pearl millet. The combined treatments of biochar along with PGPR significantly enhanced soil chemical properties such as pH, electrical conductivity (EC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and soil organic carbon (SOC) compared to the control condition. Plant growth parameters significantly improved with the combined treatment of biochar and PGPR. Antioxidant enzyme activities were substantially enhanced, with peroxidase increasing by 66.7

Chitosan and its derivatives have emerged as promising multifunctional biomaterials for the management of diabetes and its complications. Their natural biodegradability, biocompatibility, and mucoadhesive properties make them ideal candidates for advanced drug delivery. Through chemical modifications such as quaternization, carboxymethylation, and thiolation, chitosan derivatives exhibit enhanced solubility, permeability, and targeted delivery potential. These attributes enable the effective transport of anti-diabetic agents like insulin, metformin, and phytochemicals via buccal, oral, and transdermal routes, improving therapeutic efficacy and patient compliance. Chitosan based nano-carriers, hydrogels, and electro-spun nanofiber systems support sustained and stimuli-responsive drug release, particularly beneficial for chronic conditions like diabetes. In diabetic wound-healing, formulations combining chitosan derivatives with bioactive agents such as curcumin, asiaticoside, and silver nanoparticles, have shown to accelerate re-epithelialization, reduce oxidative stress, promote angiogenesis, and inhibit bacterial biofilms. These systems provide an extracellular matrix-mimicking environment conducive to fibroblast and endothelial cell proliferation. Beyond glucose control, chitosan derivatives show potential in addressing diabetic complications such as nephropathy, neuropathy, and retinopathy. Their versatility allows integration with metal nanoparticles, growth factors, and natural ligands for personalized and precision therapeutics. However, challenges such as scalability, regulatory hurdles, and long-term safety assessments must be addressed for successful clinical translation. This review highlights the broad therapeutic landscape of multifunctional chitosan derivatives in diabetes, encompassing both advanced drug delivery platforms and wound-healing applications, and emphasizing their evolving role from conventional carriers to smart, bioactive therapeutic systems. Unlike previous reviews that mainly summarize formulation strategies, this article integrates drug delivery and diabetic wound-healing applications and provides a critical, clinically oriented discussion of bioavailability thresholds, degree of deacetylation requirements, safety, and regulatory and translational barriers for chitosan-based systems. Continued interdisciplinary research and innovation are essential to realize their full potential in next-generation diabetic care.

Lassa fever is a viral hemorrhagic fever caused primarily by the Lassa virus (LASV). There is no specific drug for treating Lassa fever, highlighting the need for a new therapeutic drug. In this study, 350 fungal metabolites were retrieved from the Medicinal Fungi Secondary Metabolite and Therapeutics (MeFSAT) database for docking with the nucleoprotein of the Lassa virus. We used the Schrodinger suite for molecular docking, molecular dynamic simulations, free binding energy parameters, HOMO and LUMO, and toxicity profiles to identify suitable drug candidates for the Lassa virus from medicinal fungi. The molecular docking study revealed that phelligridin-I, gamma-L-glutaminyl-4-hydroxybenzene, Phellibaumin A and Phelliusin A showed good binding affinities with docking scores of -10.75, -10.32, -7.66 and -7.44 kcal/mol, respectively. Consequently, molecular dynamics simulations were performed to assess the stability of these molecules with the nucleoprotein of LASV for 100 ns. In the MD simulations, phelligridin-I, gamma-L-glutaminyl-4-hydroxybenzene and Phellibaumin A demonstrated good stability, with an RMSD range of less than 2.8 & Aring;. During the stimulation period, each of these molecules had an average of 10-15 interactions with the target, indicating strong binding affinities. The MM-GBSA investigation showed that the Delta G binding values of the lead compounds in pre-MD were -40.59, -42.54, -73.64 and -61.63 kcal/mol. Notably, we observed that the Delta G binding values of these compounds in the post-MD simulation were -61.83, -59.9, -85.62 and -86.97 kcal/mol, signifying enhanced binding affinities with the nucleoprotein of LASV under thermal and pressure conditions. Examination of organ toxicity revealed that phelligridin-I, phellibumin A, and ribavirin had respiratory toxicity with probability rates of 0.82, 0.81 and 0.72, respectively. Furthermore, the toxicity endpoints revealed that ribavirin has the potential to cause two-organ toxicity, mutagenicity and BBB-barrier, with probability rates of 0.85 and 0.98, respectively, which were greater than those of fungal metabolites. This is the first report of these fungal metabolites as therapeutically active candidates for combating the Lassa virus. However, further in vitro and in vivo studies are required to determine the exact mechanism of action of these compounds against Lassa virus.

Emerging evidence indicates that gut microbiota-derived metabolites (MDMs) modulate immune and metabolic pathways relevant to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) inflammation. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) primarily acetate, propionate and butyrate from dietary fiber fermentation, which signal through GPR41 (G-protein-coupled receptor 41) and GPR43 (G-protein-coupled receptor 43) expressed on enteroendocrine and immune cells, stimulating GLP-1, PYY and suppressing NF-κB–driven proinflammatory cytokine production. Clinical and experimental studies report that high-fiber or SCFA-enriching interventions can increase circulating SCFAs by approximately 20–50

Digital audiences today engage with content across platforms that differ markedly in emotional intensity and cognitive demand. Drawing on Dual Process Theory, this study proposes a generalizable cross-platform framework to distinguish between Type-1 and Type-2 processing in digital consumer cognition. Integrating perspectives from the Formalist-Realist theory of film reception, the framework introduces the concept of cognitiveaffective spillover, where rapid, emotionally charged reactions on visually immersive platforms influence slower, reflective evaluations on textually dense review-based platforms. The framework is illustrated using responses to a mainstream film release, treated here as an indicative media case, to demonstrate how platform affordances shape the tone and depth of audience reasoning. Employing sentiment analysis, topic modeling, and a novel Cognitive Processing Index (CPI), the study traces how emotionally driven content can influence evaluative discourse and consumer judgment across environments. The findings contribute to understanding how digital platform design modulates consumer thinking, offering practical implications for marketers, designers, and scholars seeking to navigate the psychology of cross-platform engagement in retail and cultural contexts.