Background: Black Cumin/Nigella sativa (NS) which belongs to the botanical family of Ranunculaceae commonly grows in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Western Asia. Its prolonged use can produce physiological changes with or without affecting the architecture of different organs like the heart (cardiac remodeling). The data for the cardiovascular benefits of black cumin are not well-established scientifically. Objectives: To determine the direct cardiovascular effects of Nigella Sativa extract on heart rate, cardiac contractility (apical force), ECG, and coronary flow in the normal heart with and without cardiac remodeling. Methods: This experimental study was conducted on forty-two (42) rabbits. These rabbits were divided into seven groups, each comprising six animals (Group I-VI without cardiac remodeling and Group VII with cardiac remodeling). NS was given to these groups in different doses i.e., Group I (NS=10ug), Group II (NS=30ug), Group III (NS=100ug), Group IV (NS=300ug), Group V (NS=3000ug), Group VI (NS=10000ug) and VII (NS=300ug). Radnoti's working heart system was used to determine the effects of NS on heart rate, cardiac contractility (apical Force), ECG, and coronary flow in a normal heart with and without cardiac remodeling. The results were analyzed using SPSS version 28.   Results: Results of this study revealed negative chronotropic and positive inotropic effects without ECG changes in the normal heart and with ECG changes in the remodeled heart. Conclusions: Prolonged use of Nigella sativa can lead to disturbed ECG by affecting the conducting tissue.

Objective: To examine the impact of sleep deprivation and coping abilities on the psychological adjustment of caregivers of elderly. Study Design: Cross sectional analytical study. Place and Duration: Department of Psychology, University of Gujrat, Gujrat Pakistan, from Jan to Jul 2018. Methodology: The caregivers of the elderly were recruited in the study with the caregiving experience of 6 months to 2 years. The respondents with any physical or psychological problems were excluded from the study. The sleep deprivation, coping and psychological adjustment were measured using the Pittsburgh sleep quality index, coping styles scale, scale of adjustment for adults respectively. Results: The data of 200 caregivers of the elderly was analyzed using structure equation modeling. The model fit was established with the p-value of <0.001. It was found that caregivers' sleep deprivation and coping abilities affected their psychological adjustments. The overall model confirmed that sleep deprivation and coping ability affected the psychological adjustment. The individual relationship between sleep deprivation predicted psychological adjustment with the value of regression estimate as 5.808 (p-value <0.001). Furthermore, the role of coping abilities on psychological adjustment had a regression value of 0.151 (p-value 0.7013). Conclusion: The sleep deprivation affected the psychological adjustment of caregivers of the elderly, whereas the coping abilities did not affect the psychological adjustment.

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