Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Research Articles

Exploring patients’ views and experiences of side-effects and how they are reported, a focus group study

Abstract Introduction Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are an increasing health concern, causing considerable physical, psychological and economic impacts1,2. The yellow card scheme (YCS) is the UK’s spontaneous reporting system, allowing patients and healthcare professionals to report ADRs (3). Research has shown that patient reports could provide a beneficial insight into real-world situations and are a key aspect of pharmacovigilance2. Despite this, under-reporting by patients remains a significant issue that needs to be addressed1. Aim This study aimed to explore views and experiences of the public regarding ADR reporting. Methods Following approval from Cardiff University School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Ethics Committee, adult members of the South Wales public who had experienced an ADR (“side-effect”) were invited via social media outlets such as Facebook and WhatsApp to participate in an online (Zoom) focus group to discuss their ADR experience (including whether they reported) and knowledge and views on the YCS. Healthcare professionals were excluded from the study. Written informed consent and demographic information via a short online survey were obtained prior to the focus group. The focus groups were audio and video recorded via Zoom and discussions were transcribed verbatim. A thematic analysis was executed to identify fundamental themes. Results Four focus groups, involving 11 participants took place. The sample consisted mostly of females between 18-30 years of age from an ethnic minority background. Themes identified were lack of knowledge of ADRs and the YCS; support and barriers to reporting ADRs and strategies for improving YCS reporting. There was a lack of knowledge of ADRs with uncertainty over the concept of “side-effect” and varying degrees of understanding on the topic. All participants had suffered side-effects that were severe in nature, affecting them physically, psychologically or cosmetically. None of the participants had any concept of the YCS and side-effect reporting. Despite this, participants felt reporting of side-effects was vital to ensure the safety of medications and prevention of patient harm. The majority of participants sought support for side-effects from a General Practitioner (GP) or community pharmacist, although difficulties accessing GP appointments was a barrier. Strategies suggested for increasing awareness of YCS to increase ADR reporting were use of posters, social media, QR codes, online prompts, coffee mornings and letters sent home to parents from schools. Discussion / Conclusion If patients are unsure around the concept of a side-effect and don’t know about the YCS, reporting rates will continue to fall. Although it is recognised that the sample is not fully representative of the Welsh population, this small-scale exploratory study has nevertheless identified some possible concerns but also some opportunities to engage patients in ADR reporting. Patient education by healthcare professionals on side-effects, alongside increased promotion of the YCS via social media and advertisements in healthcare settings are key opportunities to increase patients’ awareness and understanding of ADRs and ADR reporting. Further research is essential to understand the extent of these issues and also to investigate how healthcare professionals can facilitate this process. Follow-up studies are planned.

The Art of Finding the Right Drug Target: Emerging Methods and Strategies.

Drug targets are specific molecules in biological tissues and body fluids that interact with drugs. Drug target discovery is a key component of drug discovery and is essential for the development of new drugs in areas such as cancer therapy and precision medicine. Traditional in vitro or in vivo target discovery methods are time-consuming and labor-intensive, limiting the pace of drug discovery. With the development of modern discovery methods, the discovery and application of various emerging technologies have greatly improved the efficiency of drug discovery, shortened the cycle time, and reduced the cost. This review provides a comprehensive overview of various emerging drug target discovery strategies, including computer-assisted approaches, drug affinity response target stability, multiomics analysis, gene editing, and nonsense-mediated mRNA degradation, and discusses the effectiveness and limitations of the various approaches, as well as their application in real cases. Through the review of the aforementioned contents, a general overview of the development of novel drug targets and disease treatment strategies will be provided, and a theoretical basis will be provided for those who are engaged in pharmaceutical science research. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Target-based drug discovery has been the main approach to drug discovery in the pharmaceutical industry for the past three decades. Traditional drug target discovery methods based on in vivo or in vitro validation are time-consuming and costly, greatly limiting the development of new drugs. Therefore, the development and selection of new methods in the drug target discovery process is crucial.

Analysis of the Zagreb Indices over the Weakly Zero-Divisor Graph of the Ring Zp×Zt×Zs

Let R be a commutative ring with identity, and Z(R) be the set of zero-divisors of R. The weakly zero-divisor graph of R denoted by WΓ(R) is an undirected (simple) graph with vertex set Z(R)*, and two distinct vertices x and y are adjacent, if and only if there exist r∈ann(x) and s∈ann(y), such that rs=0. Importantly, it is worth noting that WΓ(R) contains the zero-divisor graph Γ(R) as a subgraph. It is known that graph theory applications play crucial roles in different areas one of which is chemical graph theory that deals with the applications of graph theory to solve molecular problems. Analyzing Zagreb indices in chemical graph theory provides numerical descriptors for molecular structures, aiding in property prediction and drug design. These indices find applications in QSAR modeling and chemical informatics, contributing to efficient compound screening and optimization. They are essential tools for advancing pharmaceutical and material science research. This research article focuses on the basic properties of the weakly zero-divisor graph of the ring Zp×Zt×Zs, denoted by WΓ(Zp×Zt×Zs), where p, t, and s are prime numbers that may not necessarily be distinct and greater than 2. Moreover, this study includes the examination of various indices and coindices such as the first and second Zagreb indices and coindices, as well as the first and second multiplicative Zagreb indices and coindices of WΓ(Zp×Zt×Zs).

Machine learning aided pharmaceutical engineering: Model development and validation for estimation of drug solubility in green solvent

This research paper explores the prediction of solubility of Nystatin in SC-CO2 and corresponding density using regression models and Glowworm Swarm Optimization (GSO). The dataset consists of temperature, pressure, solvent density, and solubility of Nystatin drug, with three regression models applied: Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP), K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), and Kernel Ridge Regression (KRR). GSO is employed for hyper-parameter tuning of models. For solubility predictions, GSO-KNN demonstrates exceptional performance with an R2 score of 0.99201 and MSE of 4.1500E-04. GSO-MLP also excels with an R2 score of 0.99956 and an MSE of 2.4690E-05. Regarding density predictions, GSO-KRR achieves an R2 score of 0.93993, while GSO-KNN exhibits an R2 score of 0.98804 and GSO-MLP attains an R2 score of 0.98868. Although GSO-KRR lags behind, all models demonstrate substantial predictive accuracy. This study highlights the utility of regression models in predicting solubility and density in SC-CO2, showcasing the superiority of GSO-MLP and GSO-KNN for solubility and density predictions and the competence of all models for density predictions. The findings provide valuable insights for applications in pharmaceutical and materials science research.

Pharmaceutical Food Science: Search for Bio-Functional Molecules Obtained from Natural Resources to Prevent and Ameliorate Lifestyle Diseases.

In this review, our resent pharmaceutical food science research for bio-functional molecules obtained from natural resources that contribute to i) suppression of postprandial blood glucose elevation and/or improvement of glucose tolerance and ii) reduction of visceral fat accumulation and improvement of lipid metabolism were summarized. Based on studies using MONOTORI science, salacinol (1), neokotalanol (4), and trans-tiliroside (20) have been approved or notified by the Consumer Affairs Agency in Japan as functional substances in food with health claims, Food for Specified Health Use and Food with Functional Claims.

Design, Synthesis, Anticancer Evaluation and Molecular Modeling Studies of New Thiazolidinone-Benzoate Scaffold as EGFR Inhibitors, Cell Cycle Interruption and Apoptosis Inducers in HepG2.

Synthesis of new anticancer candidates with protein kinases inhibitory potency is a major goal of pharmaceutical science and synthetic research. This current work represents the synthesis of a series of substituted benzoate-thiazolidinones. Most prepared thiazolidinones were evaluated in vitro for their potential anticancer activity against three cell lines by MTT assay, and they found to be more effective against cancer cell lines with no harm toward normal cells. Thiazolidinones 5 c and 5 h were further evaluated to be kinase inhibitors against EGFR showing effective inhibitory impact (with IC50 value; 0.2±0.009 and 0.098±0.004 μM, for 5 c and 5 h, respectively). Furthermore, 5 c and 5 h have effects on cell cycle and apoptosis induction capability in HepG2 cell lines by DNA-flow cytometry analysis and annexin V-FITC apoptosis assay, respectively. The results showed that they have effect of disrupting the cell cycle and causing cell mortality by apoptosis in the treated cells. Moreover, molecular docking studies showed better binding patterns for 5 c and 5 h with the active site of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) protein kinase (PDB code 1M17). Finally, toxicity risk and physicochemical characterization by Osiris method was performed on most of the compounds, revealing excellent properties as possible drugs.

Purification, characterization and bioactivities of a 4-O-methylglucuronoxylan from Aralia echinocaulis

The discovery of active constituents from food plants is an important area of research in pharmaceutical sciences. Aralia echinocaulis is a medicinal food plant that is mainly used to prevent or treat rheumatoid arthritis in China. This paper reported the isolation, purification and bioactivity of a polysaccharide (HSM-1-1) from A. echinocaulis. Its structural features were analyzed according to the molecular weight distribution, monosaccharide composition, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectra. The results indicated that HSM-1-1 was a new 4-O-methylglucuronoxylan mainly composed of xylan and 4-O-methyl glucuronic acid with the molecular weight of 1.6 × 104 Da. Furthermore, the antitumor and anti-inflammatory activities of HSM-1-1 in vitro were investigated, and the results showed that HSM-1-1 had potent proliferation inhibition activity on colon cancer cell SW480 with an inhibition rate of 17.57 ± 1.03 % at a concentration of 600 μg/mL, as measured via MTS methods. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a polysaccharide structure obtained from A. echinocaulis and its bioactivities, and its potential as an adjuvant natural product with antitumor effects is shown.

Pharmaceutical Scientists’ Perspectives on Capacity Building in Pharmaceutical Sciences

With the anticipated health challenges brought by demographic and technological changes, ensuring capacity in underlying workforce in place is essential for addressing patients’ needs. Therefore, a timely identification of important drivers facilitating capacity building is important for strategic decisions and workforce planning. In 2020, internationally renowned pharmaceutical scientists (N = 92), largely from the academia and pharmaceutical industry, with mostly pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences educational background were approached (through a questionnaire) for their considerations on influencing drivers to facilitate meeting current capacity in pharmaceutical sciences research. From a global view, based on the results of the questionnaire, the top drivers were better alignment with patient needs as well as strengthening education – both through continuous learning and deeper specialisation. The study also showed that capacity building is more than simply increasing the influx of graduates. Pharmaceutical sciences are being influenced by other disciplines, and we can expect more diversity in scientific background and training. Capacity building of pharmaceutical scientists should allow flexibility for rapid change driven by the clinic and need for specialised science and it should be underpinned by lifelong learning.

Analytical Quality by Design (AQBD) Assisted Development and Validation of HPTLC Method for Estimation of Rottlerin in Topical Patch Formulation

Pharmacognosy Research,2023,15,2,267-276.DOI:10.5530/pres.15.2.029Published:February 2023Type:Original Article Authors:Kaumudee Bodas, Vaibhav M Shinde, Deshmukh Vishal, and Deshmukh Sheetal Author(s) affiliations:Kaumudee Bodas1, Vaibhav M Shinde1,*, Deshmukh Vishal2, Deshmukh Sheetal2 1Centre for Advanced Research in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Poona College of Pharmacy, Pune, Maharashtra, INDIA. 2Bharati Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University), Yashwantrao Mohite Institute of Management, Karad, Maharashtra, INDIA. Abstract:Background: Rottlerin, a natural polyphenolic ketone is a major constituent of Mallotus philippensis (Lam.) Mull. Arg. plant. Although, less explored it has diverse array of therapeutic applications. Objectives: The current work aimed to develop novel, simple, speedy, accurate, potent High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography Method (HPTLC) to separate, and quantify rottlerin from the herbal topical patch In-House formulation. Materials and Methods: This was the foremost attempt to develop and validate HPTLC method using Analytical Quality by design (AQbD) approach. Box Behnken design (BBD) coupled with response surface methodology approach was followed for the systematic optimization. The end results of toluene content, chamber conditioning time, and solvent front on Rf value of rottlerin was studied. The optimised method was validated as per ICH guidelines. Results: For HPTLC, stationary phase used was aluminium plates 60F254 coated with silica gel as. AQbD optimised conditions were mobile phase proportion namely toluene: ethyl acetate: methanol: ammonia (5:4:2:0.2), development distance 80 mm, band width 6mm, and chamber saturation time 10 min. The method generated well resolved and compact bands at Rf of 0.41±0.05. The developed method exhibited high accuracy, precision, robustness, and recovery. The quantity of Rottlerin in developed herbal patch was found to be 134.8 ng/band. Conclusion: In a nutshell, the present study undeniably vouches for a QbD based method development approach for Rottlerin and can be extrapolated to estimate it in other herbal extracts, or marketed formulations Keywords:Analytical Quality by design (AQbD), HPTLC, Mallotus philippensis (Lam.) Mull. Arg., Rottlerin, Topical patch.View:PDF (1.15 MB)

From Antibacterial to Antibiofilm Targeting: An Emerging Paradigm Shift in the Development of Quaternary Ammonium Compounds (QACs).

In a previous development stage, mostly individual antibacterial activity was a target in the optimization of biologically active compounds and antiseptic agents. Although this targeting is still valuable, a new trend has appeared since the discovery of superhigh resistance of bacterial cells upon their aggregation into groups. Indeed, it is now well established that the great majority of pathogenic germs are found in the environment as surface-associated microbial communities called biofilms. The protective properties of biofilms and microbial resistance, even to high concentrations of biocides, cause many chronic infections in medical settings and lead to serious economic losses in various areas. A paradigm shift from individual bacterial targeting to also affecting more complex cellular frameworks is taking place and involves multiple strategies for combating biofilms with compounds that are effective at different stages of microbiome formation. Quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) play a key role in many of these treatments and prophylactic techniques on the basis of both the use of individual antibacterial agents and combination technologies. In this review, we summarize the literature data on the effectiveness of using commercially available and newly synthesized QACs, as well as synergistic treatment techniques based on them. As an important focus, techniques for developing and applying antimicrobial coatings that prevent the formation of biofilms on various surfaces over time are discussed. The information analyzed in this review will be useful to researchers and engineers working in many fields, including the development of a new generation of applied materials; understanding biofilm surface growth; and conducting research in medical, pharmaceutical, and materials sciences. Although regular studies of antibacterial activity are still widely conducted, a promising new trend is also to evaluate antibiofilm activity in a comprehensive study in order to meet the current requirements for the development of highly needed practical applications.

Novel Therapeutics Involving Antibiotic Polymer Conjugates for Treating Various Ailments: A Review.

Antibiotic polymer conjugates (APCs) are an essential part of polymer therapeutics. These conjugates have been used as an appealing platform for drug delivery. As a delivery vector, the administration route severely impacts the accessibility of antibiotics to their respective target site and therapeutic index. Furthermore, the physicochemical and biological properties of conjugates also correlate distinctly with the route of administration. The APCs delivery methods that have been disclosed so far suffer from significant constraints due to poor technology and constrained administration routes (mainly injections). Leading to promising directions, which include the development of specific characteristics for each polymer carrier, application of novel biodegradable polymers, expansion of traditional drug administration routes through the development of emerging routes, and the development of a rational and systematic methodology for designing administration routes are yet to be explored widely. This review focuses primarily on recent improvements in various routes of administration (dental, topical, and ocular) employing APCs. The mechanism of action, as well as other perspectives, have also been discussed. Moreover, this innovative technology provides a fresh perspective on pharmaceutical science research and offers unique and potential pathways for designing desired APCs.

Report on Webinar Series Cell and Gene Therapy: From Concept to Clinical Use

With the launch of the UK Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products Focus Group in late 2020, a webinar series reviewing the current and emerging trends in cell and gene therapy was held virtually in May 2021. This webinar series was timely given the recent withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union and the global COVID-19 pandemic impacting all sectors of the pharmaceutical sciences research landscape globally and in the UK. Delegates from the academic, industry, regulatory and NHS sectors attended the session where challenges and opportunities in the development and clinical implementation of cell and gene therapies were discussed. Globally, the cell and gene therapy market has reached a value of 4.3 billion dollars in 2020, having increased at a compound annual growth rate of 25.5% since 2015. This webinar series captured all the major developments in this rapidly evolving area and highlighted emerging concepts warranting cross-sector efforts from across the community in the future.

Optimization and Application of an Efficient and Stable Inhalation Exposure System for Rodents.

Inhalation is a promising and challenging method in pharmaceutical and biological science research. A stable environment is critical in dynamic inhalation administration. However, the establishment of a stable inhalation system is very challenging. Indacaterol glycopyrronium bromide inhalation powder (IM/GP mixed powder) is composed of indacaterol maleate and glycopyrronium bromide powder to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The aim of this study is to build suitable inhalation conditions and then to evaluate the pulmonary safety of this drug in Sprague-Dawley(SD) rats. In the research, through the coordination of the atomization flow, air pump flow, and scraper speed, aerosols were stabilized at 200 ± 20% mg/m3, and then rats were nose-only administered with the IM/GP mixed powder, Ultibro, and lactose-magnesium stearate mixed powder at 2.6 mg/kg/day for 14 days and 14 days of recovery period, respectively. After exposure, hematology, inflammatory cytokines in rats bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and serum, histopathological examination were performed. Results showed that the stability of powder aerosols can be realized under the atomization generation flow: 10 L/min, sampling flow: 2 L/min, system pumping capacity: 10 L/min and powder scraper speed: 8-10 L/min, and there were no significant adverse effects on body weight, clinic signs, hematology, and pathology in rats. Overall, the results suggested that the IM/GP mixed powder inhalation at the dose of 2.6 mg/kg/d can be reached when the aerosol concentration is within the range of 200 ± 20% mg/m3, and there were no pulmonary toxicity effects in rats.

Re-enforcing Bridges between Different Medical Research Fields

Welcome to the first issue of “Advances in Medical, Pharmaceutical and Dental Research, AMPDR”, a new international, peer-reviewed journal published by the Arab Academy for Science Technology & Maritime Transport (AASTMT) Publishing Centre. The journal comprises three main sections: Medical and Clinical Research section which serves all fields of medical and clinical practice, Advanced Research in Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Experimental and Applied Dental research. Original research papers, review articles and case reports are welcomed. The journal equally encourages recommendations for special issues covering hot medical topics and findings of national and international importance. As the title suggests, the AMPDR journal welcomes contributions from various health-related fields, but more importantly, inter- and multi- disciplinary research in these fields along with technological advances which nowadays contribute to all fields of research. Recently, AASTMT embarked on establishing faculties in various medical sciences such as Medicine, Pharmacy and Dentistry. Fortunately, this couldn’t come at a better time now that the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic showcased how advances in medical research could be the center of attention worldwide. This calls for establishing AMPDR to highlight the ever-increasing demand to publish findings in different specialties related to healthcare and medical field. Based on the growing support of the Interdisciplinary research as having as a main goal to “advance fundamental understanding or to solve problems whose solutions are beyond the scope of a single discipline or area of research practice” [1], we believe that combining and presenting contemporary research findings by different teams from different medical research interests not only give change to widen the scope of knowledge but also provides chance to integrate information, techniques, perspectives, concepts, and/or theories, for the advancement of medical practice. AMPDR has an ultimate goal to become a major international publication hub for medical sciences. Our journal has compiled a list of renowned scientists as member of the editorial board, which contribute and enrich the journal with their vast experience in different fields of interest. As editorial team, we give special and indispensable respect to academic integrity, ethics in clinical studies to be in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki [2] and its later amendments, as well as welfare of experimental animal use in research and 3Rs principle [3]. By the launch of this journal, AASTMT also continues its everlasting efforts in embracing the sustainable development goals of UN, by not only promoting health and well-being, medical care, sports facilities, healthy environment, national and international cooperation in the field of health promotion and education, but also by supporting research, innovation and exchange of professional expertise in this field and present it nationally and internationally. We are committed to make AMPDR a leading international journal in all aspects of medical fields, and we rely on our valued contributing authors, reviewers and eminent members of our editorial and advisory board. Thank you for considering AMPDR in your professional reading list and for your next contribution.

Animal Models in Covid-19 Research: A Scientometric Assessment of Indian Publications during 2020-21

<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Background:</strong> Animal studies are an indispensable part of fundamental and applied research essential for the advancement of human and veterinary health, including the current global quest for treatments and a vaccine development to combat the infectious diseases. This necessity is now clearly highlighted by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic More recently a growing number of studies are published on this theme. Therefore, a bibliometric analysis of research on &ldquo;Animal models in Covid-19&rdquo; research is necessary and it is likely to focus on the current status of research and indicate future direction in this study. Materials and<strong> Methods: </strong>India&rsquo;s originated literature is searched on &ldquo; Animal Models in Covid-19&rdquo; using two set of keywords related to Covid-19 and animals in &ldquo;Keyword&rdquo; and &ldquo;Title&rdquo; (Title of articles) tags to reach the relevant publications. VOSviewer was applied to perform the bibliometric analysis of these articles. Bibliographical data obtained from above search strategy was analysed by using well-established bibliometric indices.<strong> Results:</strong> The bibliometric analysis of India&rsquo;s literature on the topic &ldquo;Animal Models in Covid-19&rdquo; research indicates that there were 2343 India&rsquo;s publications indexed in Scopus database during 2020-21. The topic witnessed the uneven participation of more than 160 countries, where 88.63% and more than 100.0% share of the global publications and citations share caming from top 10 countries. USA leads the ranking with global publication share of 28.16% share, followed by China (13.30%, U.K. (10.67%), Italy (9.93%). India&rsquo;s research output on this topic registered 7.46% share to global output. The 496 organizations and 869 authors participated in India&rsquo;s research on &ldquo;Animal Model in Covid-19&rdquo;, of which the top 25 Indian organizations and 25 authors contributed 46.58% and 22.60% share to India&rsquo;s national publication output and 61.19% and 48.8% share to India&rsquo;s citation output respectively. AIIMS - New Delhi , PGIMER- Chandigarh, and IVRI- Bareilly were the most productive organizations (with 118, 115 and 68 publications). IVRIBareilly, PGIMER-Chandigarh and College of Veterinary Science, Mathura were the impactful organizations in terms of citation per paper and relative citation index. K. Dharma, R. Tiwari and Y.S. Malik were the most productive authors (with 63, 35 and 27 papers). H. Harapan, A.K.Singh and A Misra were the most impactful authors (with 90.42, 88.20 and 73.31 CPP).. International Journal of Research in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Indian Journal of Medical Research and Diabetes and Metabolic Syndromes. Clinical Research and Review were the most productive journals (with 72, 56 and 50 papers). <strong>Conclusion</strong>: The paper provides a understanding of the current research on animal models presently used in Covid-19 research in India, identify key players and their collaboration patterns and key sub-fields, which may be useful to practicing scholars and clinicians to advance their future research in a more effective manner and to policymakers in deciding the area of research to be funded in future. <strong>Key words: </strong>Covid-19, Animal Models, Global publications, Indian Publications, Bibliometrics, Scientometrics1.

Select South Asian Countries in Covid-19 Research: A Bibliometric Assessment of their Publications during 2019-21

<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Background: </strong>As a global pandemic, Covid-19 has aroused great concern and garnered research interest world-wide In India a growing number of related researches have been published in the last few months. Therefore, a bibliometric analysis of these publications may provide indication of current status and future research trends in the field.<strong> Methods: </strong>The India&rsquo;s literature about Covid-19 published during 2019-2021 were searched in the Scopus database using a well- defined search strategy. The following keywords &ldquo;Covid 19&rdquo; or &ldquo;2019 novel coronavirus&rdquo; or &ldquo;coronavirus 2019&rdquo; or &ldquo;coronavirus disease 2019&rdquo; or &ldquo;2019-novel CoV&rdquo; or &ldquo;2019 ncov&rdquo; or covid 2019 or covid19 or &ldquo;corona virus 2019&rdquo; or ncov-2019 or ncov2019 or &ldquo;nCoV 2019&rdquo; or 2019-ncov or covid-19 or &ldquo;Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2&rdquo; or &ldquo;SARS-CoV-2&rdquo;were used in &ldquo;Keyord&rdquo; and &ldquo;Title&rdquo; (Title of articles) tags to reach the relevant publications. VOSviewer was applied to perform the bibliometric analysis of these articles. <strong>Results:</strong> The bibliometric analysis of India&rsquo;s literature on Covid-19 indicates that there were 10,233 indexed publications in Scopus database until April 2021. Of all these publications, 52.87% were original articles and 11.75% (1202) publications received external funding from more than 150 agencies and 27.41% (2805) involve international collaboration with more than 150 countries. USA contributed the largest share (38.47%) in India&rsquo;s international collaborative papers, followed by U.K. (22.89%), China (11.55%), Saudi Arabia (11.44), Australia (11.23%), etc. In the geographical distribution, Delhi tops the publication list (with 21.86% share), followed by Mumbai (7.30%), Chennai (7.27%), Pune (6.44%) and Kolkata (6.04%). Among population age groups, &ldquo;Adults&rdquo; accounts for the largest publication share (9.98%), followed by &ldquo;Middle Aged&rdquo; (5.07%), &ldquo;Children&rdquo; (3.65%), &ldquo;Aged&rdquo; (3.65%) and &ldquo;Adolescents&rdquo; (2.82%). &ldquo;Treatment studies&rdquo; among prominent topics, account for the largest publication share (34.12% share), followed by &ldquo;Clinical Studies&rdquo; (13.13%), &ldquo;Epidemiology&rdquo; (10.54%), &ldquo;Imaging and Diagnostics&rdquo; (9.64%), &ldquo;Pathophysiology&rdquo; (6.27%), and etc. The 1311 organizations and 3413 authors participated in India&rsquo;s research on Covid-19, of which the top 30 organizations and authors contributed 43.50% and 11.57% national publication share and 45.62% and 32.14% national citation share. AIIMS-New Delhi and PGIMER-Chandigarh were the most productive organizations (with 623 and 468 papers). IVRIBareilly (21.32 and 4.44) and IIT-New Delhi (12.37 and 2.58) were the most impactful organizations. V. Wiwanitkit and K. Dhama were the most productive authors (with 182 and. 107 papers). R. Sah (42.89 and 8.93) and A. Misra (41.93 and 8.74) were the most impactful authors. International Journal of Research in Pharmaceutical Sciences (270 papers) and Indian Journal of Ophthalmology (210 papers) were the most productive journals. Science of the Total Environment (43.98) and Asian Journal of Psychiatry (19.19) were the most impactful journals. <strong>Conclusion:</strong> The paper provides a deeper understanding of the current Covid-19 research milieu in India, by identifying key players (and their collaboration linkages) and key sub-fields, while highlighting potential patterns that could assist future researchers in their scientific pursuits. <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Key words:</strong> Covid-19, SARS-CoV-2, India, Publications, Bibliometrics, Scientometrics.

India’s Research on Covid-19: A Scientometric Assessment of Publications 2019-21

<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Background: </strong>As a global pandemic, Covid-19 has aroused great concern and garnered research interest world-wide In India a growing number of related researches have been published in the last few months. Therefore, a bibliometric analysis of these publications may provide indication of the current status and future research trends in the field. <strong>Methods:</strong> India&rsquo;s literature about Covid-19 published during 2019-2021 were searched in the Scopus database using a well- defined search strategy. The following keywords &ldquo;Covid 19&rdquo; or &ldquo;2019 novel coronavirus&rdquo; or &ldquo;coronavirus 2019&rdquo; or &ldquo;coronavirus disease 2019&rdquo; or &ldquo;2019-novel CoV&rdquo; or &ldquo;2019 ncov&rdquo; or covid 2019 or covid19 or &ldquo;coronavirus 2019&rdquo; or ncov-2019 or ncov2019 or &ldquo;nCoV 2019&rdquo; or 2019-ncov or covid-19 or &ldquo;Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2&rdquo; or &ldquo;SARS-CoV-2&rdquo;were used in &ldquo;Keyword&rdquo; and &ldquo;Title&rdquo; (Title of articles) tags to reach the relevant publications. VOSviewer was applied to perform the bibliometric analysis of these articles. Results: The bibliometric analysis of India&rsquo;s literature on Covid-19 indicates that there were 10,233 indexed publications in the Scopus database until April 2021. Of all these publications, 52.87% were original articles and 11.75% (1202) publications received external funding from more than 150 agencies and 27.41% (2805) involve international collaboration with more than 150 countries. USA contributed the largest share (38.47%) in India&rsquo;s international collaborative papers, followed by U.K. (22.89%), China (11.55%), Saudi Arabia (11.44), Australia (11.23%), etc. In the geographical distribution, Delhi tops the publication list (with 21.86% share), followed by Mumbai (7.30%), Chennai (7.27%), Pune (6.44%) and Kolkata (6.04%). Among population age groups, &ldquo;Adults&rdquo; accounts for the largest publication share (9.98%), followed by &ldquo;Middle-Aged&rdquo; (5.07%), &ldquo;Children&rdquo; (3.65%), &ldquo;Aged&rdquo; (3.65%) and &ldquo;Adolescents&rdquo; (2.82%). &ldquo;Treatment studies&rdquo; among prominent topics, account for the largest publication share (34.12% share), followed by &ldquo;Clinical Studies&rdquo; (13.13%), &ldquo;Epidemiology&rdquo; (10.54%), &ldquo;Imaging and Diagnostics&rdquo; (9.64%), &ldquo;Pathophysiology&rdquo; (6.27%), and etc. The 1311 organizations and 3413 authors participated in India&rsquo;s research on Covid-19, of which the top 30 organizations and authors contributed 43.50% and 11.57% national publication share and 45.62% and 32.14% national citation share. AIIMS-New Delhi and PGIMER-Chandigarh were the most productive organizations (with 623 and 468 papers). IVRIBareilly (21.32 and 4.44) and IIT-New Delhi (12.37 and 2.58) were the most impactful organizations. V. Wiwanitkit and K. Dhama were the most productive authors (with 182 and. 107 papers). R. Sah (42.89 and 8.93) and A. Misra (41.93 and 8.74) were the most impactful authors. International Journal of Research in Pharmaceutical Sciences (270 papers) and Indian Journal of Ophthalmology (210 papers) were the most productive journals. Science of the Total Environment (43.98) and Asian Journal of Psychiatry (19.19) were the most impactful journals. <strong>Conclusion:</strong> The paper provides a deeper understanding of the current Covid-19 research milieu in India, by identifying key players (and their collaboration linkages) and key sub-fields while highlighting potential patterns that could assist future researchers in their scientific pursuits. <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Key words:</strong> Covid-19, SARS-CoV-2, India, Publications, Bibliometrics, Scientometrics.

Microbial Rhodopsins as Multi-functional Photoreactive Membrane Proteins for Optogenetics.

In life science research, methods to control biological activities with stimuli such as light, heat, pressure and chemicals have been widely utilized to understand their molecular mechanisms. The knowledge obtained by those methods has built a basis for the development of medicinal products. Among those various stimuli, light has the advantage of a high spatiotemporal resolution that allows for the precise control of biological activities. Photoactive membrane protein rhodopsins from microorganisms (called microbial rhodopsins) absorb visible light and that light absorption triggers the trans-cis photoisomerization of the chromophore retinal, leading to various functions such as ion pumps, ion channels, transcriptional regulators and enzymes. In addition to their biological significance, microbial rhodopsins are widely utilized as fundamental molecular tools for optogenetics, a method to control biological activities by light. In this review, we briefly introduce the molecular basis of representative rhodopsin molecules and their applications for optogenetics. Based on those examples, we discuss the high potential of rhodopsin-based optogenetics tools for basic and clinical research in pharmaceutical sciences.

A Bibliometric Analysis of Pharmaceutical Sciences-Related Articles in Qatar from 2013-2020

Backgrround: Pharmaceutical science is an important area in drug discovery and therapies.The research output generated from pharmaceutical sciences research is critical for psychological, physical, and social wellbeing.&#x0D; This study was carried out to analyze Qatar's quantity and quality of pharmaceutical sciences-related research and map out a national research roadmap and priority areas.&#x0D; Materials and Methods: A systematic search was carried out in the Web of Science, Scopus, Pub Med, and Google Scholar databases using the search terms “Pharmaceutical Science,” “Pharmaceutical Chemistry,” “Medicinal Chemistry,” “Pharmacology,” “Pharmaceutics,” “Pharmacokinetics,” “Physiology,” “Pharmaceutical Science research,” “Study,” other relevant terms related to Pharmaceutical Sciences field and “Qatar.”The search covered eight years. The data extracted included the title, keywords, publication date, authors, publishing journal, journal ranking, impact factor, type of article, number of citations, the sum of citations, H-index, etc.&#x0D; Results: The search yielded123 studies. Most were original articles (n=100, 81.3%), published in 2019 (n=27, 22.0%), applied research (n=68, 55.3%),indexed in Web of Science (n=120, 97.6%),published under the subject of pharmacology (n=43, 42.6%), focused on cancer (n=46, 37.4%)and produced by five authors (n=19, 18.8%) and more than eight authors (n=19, 18.8%). Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) was the main collaborator (n=16, 13.0%). Fifty-four (43.9%) of the articles were published in journals ranked as Q1.&#x0D; Conclusions: A total of 123 articles were published, with an average annual growth rate of 6.7% in publications and 946 citations. A high number of publications were in Q1 and Q2 journals. The research focus (e.g., cancer and cardiovascular) was established according to the country’s research roadmap and priority areas.

Animal Models in Covid-19 Research: A Scientometric Assessment of Indian Publications during 2020-21

Background: Animal studies are an indispensable part of fundamental and applied research essential for the advancement of human and veterinary health, including the the current global quest for treatments and a vaccine development to combat the infectious diseases. This necessity is now clearly highlighted by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic More recently a growing number of studies are published on this theme. Therfore, a bibliometric analysis of research on “Animal models in Covid-19” research is necessary and it is likely to focus on current status of research and indicate future direction in this study. Materials and Methods: The India’s originated literatures is searched on “ Animal Models in Covid-19” using two set of keywords related to Covid-19 and animals in “Keyword” and “Title” (Title of articles) tags to reach the relevant publications. VOSviewer was applied to perform the bibliometric analysis of these articles. Biblio-graphical data obtained from above search strategy was analysed the data by using well-established bibliometric indices. Results: The bibliometric analysis of India’s literature on the topic “Animal Models in Covid-19” research indicates that there were 2343 India’s publications indexed in Scopus database during 2020-21. The topic witnessed the uneven partici-pation of more than 160 countries, where 88.63% and more than 100.0% share of the global publications and citations share caming from top 10 countries. USA leads the ranking with global publication share of 28.16% share, followed by China (13.30%, U.K. (10.67%), Italy (9.93%). India’s research output on this topicr registered 7.46% share to global output. The 496 organizations and 869 authors participated in India’s research on “Animal Model in Covid-19”, of which the top 25 Indian organizations and 25 authors contributed 46.58% and 22.60% share to India’s national publication output and 61.19% and 48.8% share to India’s citation output re-spectively. AIIMS - New Delhi , PGIMER- Chandigarh, and IVRI- Bareilly were the most productive organizations (with 118, 115 and 68 publications). IVRI-Bareilly, PGIMER-Chandigarh and College of Veterinary Science, Mathura were the impactful organizations in terms of citation per paper and relative citation index. K. Dharma, R. Tiwari and Y.S. Malik were the most productive authors (with 63, 35 and 27 papers). H. Harapan, A.K.Singh and A Misra were the most impactful authors (with 90.42, 88.20 and 73.31 CPP).. International Journal of Research in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Indian Journal of Medical Research and Diabetes and Metabolic Syndromes. Clinical Research and Review were the most productive journals (with 72, 56 and 50 papers). Conclusion: The paper provides a understanding of the current research on animal models presently used in Covid-19 research in India, identify key players and their collaboration patterns and key sub-fields, which may be useful to practicing scholars and clinicians to advance their future research in a more effective manner and to policy-makers in deciding the area of research to be funded in future. Key words: Covid-19, Animal Models, Global publications, Indian Publications, Bibliometrics, Scientometrics1.