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Recent trends in higher education indicate a steady increase in the number of adult and non-traditional learners returning to complete college degrees. Though higher education can provide numerous economic and career enhancement opportunities, adult learners experience several challenges when they return to college. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to gather and analyze data from employees from companies in the Midwest to determine the challenges and motivations of adult learners who plan to return to higher education. The results highlight that it is important for institutions of higher education to collaborate with employers to identify ways to modify their student recruitment methods to attract more adult student learners and identify supportive resources to help them complete their degrees successfully.

Background: Neurodegenerative diseases have been one of the major concerns for human health. Genetic and environmental factors are believed to be responsible for neuronal diseases such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and Huntington's disease. It is difficult to restore normal nervous function after neurodegeneration; hence, prevention could be the best strategy against these diseases. Ayurved medicines such as Suvarna Bhasma (SB) have enormous potential to treat these neurological diseases. Aim: The aim of this study is to examine the protective effect of SB against rotenone-induced Parkinson's-like model in zebrafish. Materials and methods: In this study, we induced Parkinson's-like disease model in zebrafish by inducing it with rotenone (7 μg/L). We examined the behavioural, proteomics and dopamine alterations of rotenone induced zebrafish of SB pre-treated group as compared to the control group. Results: The behavioural experiments showed that due to rotenone exposure, Parkinson's-like behavioural abnormality was induced in zebrafish. However, because of SB treatment, this behavioural abnormality was reduced. The proteomics study of zebrafish brains clearly showed that the SB-treated group was not significantly affected due to rotenone exposure. However, in the SB non-treated group, expression of nine proteins that are linked to Parkinson's disease (gene name: sncgb, ywhae1, ywhah, uchl1, ywhaba, psma6a, ywhabl, ywhaqb, and ywhabb) were differentially expressed after rotenone exposure. Finally, prevention of dopamine alteration in SB-treated fish brains confirmed the protective action of SB against rotenone-induced Parkinson's-like model in zebrafish. Conclusions: This study finds that Suvarna Bhasma has neuroprotective effects against Parkinson's-like disease model.

Measurement(s) Bone microstructure and quality Technology Type(s) High-resolution imaging technology Factor Type(s) Osseointegration Sample Characteristic - Organism Oryctolagus cuniculus Sample Characteristic - Environment Sterile Environment Sample Characteristic - Location India

Abstract Background There is a continuous research in the area of biomimetic coatings on the titanium (Ti) implant surfaces for improved survival and long-term successful outcomes in the field of dentistry and orthopedics. In-vitro approaches are ideal systems for studying cell-material interactions without complexity and interference observed in in-vivo models. Purpose The present study was undertaken to evaluate the osteoblast characteristics and function on Ti substrates coated with the novel composite coating of ceramic apatite-wollastonite (AW) and polymer chitosan. Materials and methods Ti substrate coated with composite AW-Chitosan was synthesized, using electrophoretic deposition. MG-63 cells were seeded onto the coated substrates and cellular morphology and growth was assessed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Laser Scanning Microscopy (LSM). Osteocalcin expression of the seeded cells was assessed by FITC tagging and LSM analysis. Alizarin Red S staining and Confocal LSM (CSLM) analysis was used to study the in-vitro mineralization on the titanium samples. Results The AW-Chitosan coating on Ti samples by electrophoretic deposition exerted significant positive influence on cell proliferation, growth and mineralization as compared to uncoated titanium samples. Scanning electron microscopy and laser confocal microscopy experiments revealed that the coating was non-toxic to cells, enhanced adhesion and proliferation of MG-63 cells. Increased functional activity was observed by increased production of bone-specific protein osteocalcin and mineralized calcium through day 7 and 14. Conclusions The present study underscores that optimal inorganic-organic phase nanocomposite crack-free coating created on Ti by simple, cost-effective electrophoretic deposition technique may have osteoconductive potential and may have wide application in the field of implantology. Graphical abstract

Microemulsions originating from food industries, textiles, paint industries, kitchen wastes, and oil spills on roads ultimately form a complex cocktail of emulsified water sources that are difficult to separate. Traditional methods often fail to provide stable and efficient separation of these microemulsions at the tertiary stage, highlighting the need for advanced membrane technologies. This study explores the incorporation of nickel oxide and montmorillonite (NiO-MMT) nanoparticles into poly-(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membranes to enhance the separation of microemulsified oil from water. By integrating 2% NiO-MMT, the membrane surface becomes significantly smoother compared to pristine PVDF membranes, thereby enhancing its antifouling properties. The addition of NiO-MMT significantly improves the hydrophilicity of the membrane matrix, resulting in a pure water permeance of up to 3781 ± 3% L·m–2·h–1·bar–1. Experimental results indicate that NiO-MMT-incorporated PVDF membranes exhibit a >5.3 times increase in motor oil–water separation efficiency and a 1.4 times increase in the separation efficiency of both palm oil and mustard oil from water compared to pristine membranes. The hydrophilic nature and high surface energy of the composite membrane effectively separates stable microemulsified oil from water, achieving an 80% permeance recovery after six filtration cycles. This contributes to environmental sustainability and technological advancements in various industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanotheranostic‐based photochemotherapies with targeted drug delivery have considerably surfaced in cancer therapy. In the presented work, polyethyleneimine‐coated upconversion nanoparticles were engineered to conjugate covalently with doxorubicin. Upconversion nanoparticles (UCNP)‐Doxorubicin (DOX)/synthesized epidermal growth factor receptor‐targeting peptide blended with polymer composite was electrospun and formulated as the injectable dosage form. The size of the UCNP and the nanofiber diameter were assessed as 26.75 ± 1.54 and 162 ± 2.82 nm, respectively. The optimized ratio of dopants resulted in UCNP photoluminescence with maximum emission intensity at around 800 nm upon 980 nm excitation wavelength. The paramagnetic nature of UCNPs and amide conjugation with the drug was confirmed analytically. The loading capacity of UCNP for doxorubicin was determined to be 54.56%, while nanofibers exhibited 98.74% capacity to encapsulate UCNP‐DOX. The release profile of UCNP‐DOX from nanofiber formulation ranged from sustained to controlled, with relative enhancement in acidic conditions. The nanofiber demonstrated good mechanical strength, robust swelling, and degradation rate. Biocompatibility tests showed more than 90% cell viability on L929 and NIH/3T3 cell lines with UCNP‐DOX@NF/pep nanoformulation. The IC50 values of 2.15 ± 0.54, 2.87 ± 0.67, and 3.42 ± 0.45 μg/mL on MDA‐MB‐231, 4T1, and MCF‐7 cancer cell line, respectively, with a significant cellular uptake, has been reported. The UCNP protruded a ≈62.7°C temperature rise within 5 min of 980 nm laser irradiation and a power density of 0.5 W cm−2. The nanoformulation induced reactive oxygen species of 65.67% ± 3.21% and apoptosis by arresting the cell cycle sub‐G1 phase. The evaluation conveys the effectiveness of the developed injectable theranostic delivery system in cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rasasindura is a mercury-based medicinal formulation that contains HgS (>99%). Although cinnabar ore was a well-known mineral in the past, the Ayurvedic practitioner adopted a critical and tedious procedure for the preparation of Rasasindura. Therefore, it is essential to understand the Ayurvedic process in the perspective of material science. Further, a toxicity study is also required as mercury is the main component in Rasasindura. Here, in the present study, we characterized Rasasindura and one of its intermediates (Kajjali) to understand the physicochemical changes that occur in the Ayurvedic process. Furthermore, we have assessed the toxicity of Kajjali and Rasasindura in NIH3T3 cell lines and zebrafish larvae. XRD analysis of Rasasindura confirms it as a highly pure α-HgS with size ranges from nano to micron sizes (starting from ∼80 nm). Whereas, Kajjali is a β-HgS having lower size ranges (starting from ∼30 nm). Rasasindura did not show significant cytotoxicity on NIH3T3 cell line up to 75 ppm, whereas for Kajjali, cytotoxicity was observed above 20 ppm. The higher toxicity of Kajjali is due to higher penetration of particles into the cells. However, in zebrafish larvae, even at too high concentrations (1000 ppm), both Rasasindura and Kajjali did not show any toxicity or morphological changes. This study concludes that Rasasindura is not toxic up to a reasonable concentration. Further, these two drugs did not contain toxic organic mercuric compound; otherwise, it could have been lethal to the zebrafish larvae.