The phytochemical investigation of the ethylacetate-soluble fraction of Caryopteris odorata (Ham. ex Roxb.) led to the isolation of four new iridoid glucosides (1-4): 8-O-trans-cinnamoyl caryoptoside (1), 8-O-trans-cinnamoyl shanzhiside methylester (2), 8-O-trans-cinnamoyl mussaenoside (3) and 8-O-cafeoyl massenoside (4). The structures of these compounds were determined by FAB-MS, IR, 1D and 2D-NMR spectroscopy and by comparing with the published data of the closely related compounds. The antioxidant potential of the isolated iridoids (1-4) was evaluated relative to conventionally used standards and these molecules exhibited good antioxidant potential. Moreover, their inhibitory potential was also screened against three enzymes, namely acetyl cholinesterase, butyrylcholinesterase and lipoxygenase. These iridoid glucosides were found to be inactive against acetyl and butyrylcholinesterases but active against lipoxygenase.

Novel bi‐heterocyclic benzamides were synthesized by sequentially converting 4‐(1H‐indol‐3‐yl)butanoic acid (1) into ethyl 4‐(1H‐indol‐3‐yl)butanoate (2), 4‐(1H‐indol‐3‐yl)butanohydrazide (3), and a nucleophilic 5‐[3‐(1H‐indol‐3‐yl)propyl]‐1,3,4‐oxadiazole‐2‐thiol (4). In a parallel series of reactions, various electrophiles were synthesized by reacting substituted anilines (5a–k) with 4‐(chloromethyl)benzoylchloride (6) to afford 4‐(chloromethyl)‐N‐(substituted‐phenyl)benzamides (7a–k). Finally, the nucleophilic substitution reaction of 4 was carried out with newly synthesized electrophiles, 7a–k, to acquire the targeted bi‐heterocyclic benzamides, 8a–k. The structural confirmation of all the synthesized compounds was done by IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, EI‐MS, and CHN analysis data. The inhibitory effects of these bi‐heterocyclic benzamides (8a–k) were evaluated against alkaline phosphatase, and all these molecules were identified as potent inhibitors relative to the standard used. The kinetics mechanism was ascribed by evaluating the Lineweaver–Burk plots, which revealed that compound 8b inhibited alkaline phosphatase non‐competitively to form an enzyme–inhibitor complex. The inhibition constant Ki calculated from Dixon plots for this compound was 1.15 μM. The computational study was in full agreement with the experimental records and these ligands exhibited good binding energy values. These molecules also exhibited mild cytotoxicity toward red blood cell membranes when analyzed through hemolysis. So, these molecules might be deliberated as nontoxic medicinal scaffolds to render normal calcification of bones and teeth.

(1) Background: Health literacy (HL) is one of the key determinants of health and healthcare outcomes. The objectives of this study are to measure and validate Sørensen et al.’s integrated model of health literacy (IMHL) in a developing country’s youth population, as well as to assess the impact of family affluence and social and family support on healthcare domains. (2) Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out of undergraduate university students in 19 public and private sector universities in Pakistan during June–August 2022. A nine-factor measurement model was tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modeling (SEM) based on the 56 valid items obtained from three different validated scales, such as the family affluence scale (FAS-II), the multidimensional scale of perceived social support (MSPSS), and the European Health Literacy Questionnaire (the HLS-EU-Q). (3) Results: The data were collected from 1590 participants with a mean age of 21.16 (±2.027) years. The model fit indices indicate that the model partially fitted the data: χ2 = 4.435, df = 1448, p = 0.000, RMSEA = 0.048, TLI = 0.906, CFI = 0.912, IFI = 0.912, GFI = 0.872, NFI = 0.889, RFI = 0.882, PGFI = 0.791. The structural equation model showed acceptable goodness of fit indices, indicating a significant direct influence of social and family support on healthcare and disease prevention. (4) Conclusions: Social and family support are the most influential factors, with regard to HL dimensions, in improving healthcare, disease prevention, and health promotion in low-income settings and among non-English-speaking communities.

No abstract

A phenomenon which has been termed ''multilayered Rayleigh modes'' has been presented in previous papers. This study aims to prove experimentally the existence of these waves in anisotropic periodically multilayered media. These modes result from a combination of Floquet waves which propagate in a periodically multilayered medium when all the Floquet waves are inhomogeneous. The experimental verification was done using an acousto-optic technique and a measurement of the reflected field, which was obtained with a hydrophone measurement system, on a carbon/epoxy composite plate. The experimental and calculated dispersion curves of the multilayered Rayleigh modes were then drawn. The coincidence of the curves was found quite good, thus confirming our theory. However, two modes were found by the acousto-optic technique not to fit into the theory. One experimentally detected mode was found to correspond to the Lamb mode of the plate and the other was not experimentally detected by the acousto-optic technique. Measurement of the reflected field for this mode, which was obtained with a hydrophone measurement system, and its comparison with the predicted reflected field make it possible to verify the existence of the mode. The combination of both experiments permit a good coincidence to be found.