Abstract Background Out-of-pocket (OOP) payment is one of many countries’ main financing options for health care. High OOP payments push them into financial catastrophe and the resultant ...impoverishment. The infrastructure, society, culture, economic condition, political structure, and every element of the physical and social environment influence the intensity of financial catastrophes in health expenditure. Hence, the incidence of Catastrophic Health Expenditure (CHE) must be studied more intensively, specifically from regional aspects. This systematic review aims to make a socio-ecological synthesis of the predictors of CHE. Method We retrieved data from Scopus and Web of Science. This review followed PRISMA guidelines. The interest outcomes of the included literature were the incidence and the determinants of CHE. This review analyzed the predictors in light of the socio-ecological model. Results Out of 1436 screened documents, fifty-one met the inclusion criteria. The selected studies were quantitative. The studies analyzed the socioeconomic determinants from the demand side, primarily focused on general health care, while few were disease-specific and focused on utilized care. The included studies analyzed the interpersonal, relational, and institutional predictors more intensively. In contrast, the community and policy-level predictors are scarce. Moreover, neither of the studies analyzed the supply-side predictors. Each CHE incidence has different reasons and different outcomes. We must go with those case-specific studies. Without the supply-side response, it is difficult to find any effective solution to combat CHE. Conclusion Financial protection against CHE is one of the targets of sustainable development goal 3 and a tool to achieve universal health coverage. Each country has to formulate its policy and enact laws that consider its requirements to preserve health rights. That is why the community and policy-level predictors must be studied more intensively. Proper screening of the cause of CHE, especially from the perspective of the health care provider’s perspective is required to identify the individual, organizational, community, and policy-level barriers in healthcare delivery.
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With the development of nanotechnology, silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) have become one of the most in-demand nanoparticles owing to their exponential number of uses in various sectors. ...The increased use of Ag-NPs-enhanced products may result in an increased level of toxicity affecting both the environment and living organisms. Several studies have used different model cell lines to exhibit the cytotoxicity of Ag-NPs, and their underlying molecular mechanisms. This review aimed to elucidate different properties of Ag-NPs that are responsible for the induction of cellular toxicity along with the critical mechanism of action and subsequent defense mechanisms observed in vitro. Our results show that the properties of Ag-NPs largely vary based on the diversified synthesis processes. The physiochemical properties of Ag-NPs (e.g., size, shape, concentration, agglomeration, or aggregation interaction with a biological system) can cause impairment of mitochondrial function prior to their penetration and accumulation in the mitochondrial membrane. Thus, Ag-NPs exhibit properties that play a central role in their use as biocides along with their applicability in environmental cleaning. We herein report a current review of the synthesis, applicability, and toxicity of Ag-NPs in relation to their detailed characteristics.
Arsenic is a well-known potent toxicant affecting people by causing various human diseases. Long-term exposure to arsenic has strong adverse health effects on liver and kidney disorders, and various ...forms of cancer. Contrarily, curcumin and D-pinitol are bioactive dietary compounds that have antioxidant properties. Both are used to treat a broad variety of human diseases. Thus, we hypothesized that both may have synergistic effects against arsenic-induced toxicity in PC12 cells. Cells were pretreated with curcumin (1, 2.5, 5 and 10 μM), D-pinitol (1, 2.5, 5 and 10 μM) alone or in combination, then exposed to sodium arsenite (10 μM). The final concentration of curcumin 2.5 μM and D-pinitol 5 μM was selected for combination treatment based on their highest protection at lowest concentration against arsenic toxicity. Results demonstrated that pretreatment of curcumin and D-pinitol and their combined treatment with arsenic rescued PC12 cells. Western blot analysis results showed that pretreatment of curcumin and D-pinitol and their combined treatment with arsenic significantly inhibited arsenic-induced cell death through up-regulation of pro-survival proteins and down-regulation of cell death-related proteins, although these protein expressions were negatively regulated by arsenic. Furthermore, the effect of combined treatment with curcumin and D-pinitol was stronger than individual treatment.
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•Curcumin (50 and 100 μM) decreases cell viability of PC12 cells unlike D-pinitol.•Arsenic induced cell death via both mitochondria-mediated intrinsic apoptosis and autophagy.•Curcumin and D-pinitol alone or in combination efficiently protects PC12 cells from arsenic-induced cytotoxicity.•The combined cytoprotection of curcumin and D-pinitol against arsenic-toxicity was higher than their individual protection.
Purpose of this study is to investigate mechanism/s of cyto-protection by selenium (Na2SeO3; Se4+) against cadmium (CdCl2; Cd2+)-induced cytotoxicity using PC12 cells. In addition, Se (5, 10, 20 and ...40 μM) and Cd (2.5, 5 and 10 μM)-induced cytotoxicity is determined. Cytotoxicity assays and western blot analyses confirmed that Se (≥10 μM) promotes autophagic cell death via inhibition of mTOR activation and p62 accumulation due to increase of cellular oxidative stress. On the other hand, co-presence of non-toxic Se (5 μM) and toxic Cd (5 μM) showed to increase cell viability, glutathione and glutathione peroxidase 1 (GPx1) levels, and to decrease DNA fragmentation and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity compared to Cd-treated (5 μM) cells alone. Furthermore, western blot analyses of cytochrome c and ERK1 indicated that Cd-induced apoptotic cell death in PC12 cells. However, the co-exposure of Se with Cd significantly decreases the release of cytochrome c into cytosol from mitochondria, and up-regulates ERK1 protein to inhibit Cd-induced apoptosis. In conclusion, Se (≥10 μM) possess cytotoxicity in PC12 cells; however, co-presence of Se (5 μM) with Cd (5 μM) protects against Cd-induced apoptosis in PC12 cells due to inhibition of Cd-induced oxidative stress and subsequently suppression of mitochondrial apoptosis pathway.
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•High concentrations of Se (10, 20 and 40 μM) induced autophagy in PC12 cells.•Cd (5 μM)-induced apoptosis was inhibited by Se (5 μM) in PC12 cells.•Se inhibited Cd-toxicity via modulating oxidative stress and cytochrome c.•Finally, Se reversed Cd-induced downregulation of ERK1/MAPK pathway.
Metals are ubiquitous in the environment due to huge industrial applications in the form of different chemicals and from extensive mining activities. The frequent exposures to metals and metalloids ...are crucial for the human health. Trace metals are beneficial for health whereas non-essential metals are dangerous for the health and some are proven etiological factors for diseases including cancers and neurological disorders. The interactions of essential trace metals such as selenium (Se) and zinc (Zn) with non-essential metals viz. lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), and mercury (Hg) in biological system are very critical and complex. A huge number of studies report the protective role of Se and Zn against metal toxicity, both in animal and cellular levels, and also explain the numerous mechanisms involved. However, it has been considered that a tiny dyshomeostasis in the metals/trace metals status in biological system could induce severe deleterious effects that can manifest to numerous diseases. Thus, in this particular review, we have demonstrated the critical protection mechanism/s of Se and Zn against Cd, Pb, As and Hg toxicity in a one by one manner to clarify the up-to-date findings and perspectives. Furthermore, biomolecular consequences are comprehensively presented in light of particular cellular/biomolecular events which are somehow linked to a subsequent disease. The analyzed reports support significant protection potential of Se and Zn, either alone or in combination with other agents, against each of the abovementioned non-essential metals. However, Se and Zn are still not being used as detoxifying agents due to some unexplained reasons. We hypothesized that Se could be a potential candidate for detoxifying As and Hg regardless of their chemical speciations, but requires intensive clinical trials. However, particularly Zn-Hg interaction warrants more investigations both in animal and cellular level.
•Adverse health outcome due to environmental exposure of metals is obvious.•Oxidative stress induction is pivotal regulator of metal-induced toxicity.•Se and Zn possesses potential to detoxify metals toxicity in biological systems.•Se and Zn has different mechanism/s against metals’ toxicity in vitro and in vivo.•Detoxification potential of trace metals warrants more study against metal toxicity.
The growth acceleration in the older population has been observed in many countries which creates a significant challenge to transportation. Public transport is an essential component of most ...people’s lives. This specific group of population growth will require special attention to accessibility and mobility issues in combination with the transport system which undoubtedly can play a key role to support ageing. Good health, quality of life and independence are fundamental values for the life as well as mobility. For people such as senior citizens, public transport needs to be accessible and affordable in order to provide them with the opportunity to fulfil their medical, shopping and recreational needs. Providing access to transport for people with age 65 & over is not a marginal problem and it is expected to grow in the future. The most important concern in accessibility is the relatively short distance and high frequency movements from a permanent home. This study will identify the travel pattern & mode for elderly commuters in greater Melbourne, Australia. The study will also suggest strategies to improve the use of public transport system to promote ageing in place.
The burgeoning human population exhibited a rapid amplification in demand for timber and fuelwood and as a result, the natural population of the native tree Tecomella undulata reduced rapidly due to ...its high economic and medicinal significance. The recognition of appropriate regions for threatened plants in the climate change scenario is a fundamental step for the restoration and conservation of biodiversity. The current study predicts the potentially suitable areas in Pakistan for T. undulata restoration. This research identifies the highly appropriate regions for vulnerable T. undulata through the maximum entropy model from MaxEnt software. The model’s Area Under Curve 0.968 suggested its accuracy. The mean temperature of the wettest quarter, precipitation of the warmest quarter, and mean temperature in the driest quarter significantly shaped the T. undulata distribution. Future suitable areas for T. undulata were made by using RCP (4.5 and 8.5) for the years 2050 and 2070 through 19 bioclimatic variables and 66 occurrence points. The current highly suitable area for T. undulata is approximately 135,749 km2 (15.4%) while the unsuitable area identified is approximately 404,917 km2 (45.91%). The highly suitable area for T. undulata increases by 3.6–7% under climate change regimes (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5). The Central Punjab (District Faisalabad, Nankana sahib, Jhang, Kasur, and Okara), Salt Range, Western Khayber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), FATA area, Eastern Balochistan, and Thar and Tharparker in Sindh are the current appropriate habitats for T. undulata. Under all future climatic circumstances, the extremely appropriate area for T. undulata was anticipated to expand, whereas the unsuitable zones would all shrink. The research would be significant for the further development of T. undulata management and conservation techniques.
The elderly population is increasing rapidly. Understanding travel behaviour for this group of commuters (in terms of the trip purpose and travel time) is necessary for future transport planning. ...Many researchers are working on travel’s spatial and temporal analysis to provide operational decision making and transport network planning. This research study’s primary purpose is to identify the influence of trip duration (using public transport), time of the day (usage of public transport), and public transport (PT) accessibility over public transport mode preference by elderly (over 65 years of age) commuters. The methodology of this study is divided into two parts as spatial analysis and temporal analysis. The research identified the dependency of trip duration, time of the day, geographical areas, and PT access over transport mode preference of elderly. The temporal study shows that transport mode preference can vary depending on trip purposes. However, for specific trip durations and times of the day, the elderly sometimes choose PT as a mobility mode. For instance, on shopping trips between 10:00 and 11:00 a.m., the elderly have a greater possibility of choosing public transport over private vehicles. Moreover, the results show the public transport mode preference based on different times of the day and trip purposes. Urban and transport planner can use the results to modify/plan public transport schedule, which can be easily accessible by the elderly population.
Mercury (Hg) is an extremely dangerous environmental contaminant, responsible for human diseases including neurological disorders. However, the mechanisms of inorganic Hg (iHg)-induced cell death and ...toxicity are little known. Dihydrolipoic acid (DHLA) is the reduced form of a naturally occurring compound lipoic acid, which act as a potent antioxidant through multiple mechanisms. So we hypothesized that DHLA has an inhibitory role on iHg-cytotoxicity. The purposes of this research were to investigate mechanism/s of cytotoxicity of iHg, as well as, the cyto-protection of DHLA against iHg induced toxicity using PC12 cells. Treatment of PC12 cells with HgCl2 (Hg2+) (0–2.5 μM) for 48 h resulted in significant toxic effects, such as, cell viability loss, high level of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, DNA damage, cellular glutathione (GSH) level decrease and increased Hg accumulation. In addition, protein level expressions of akt, p-akt, mTOR, GR, NFkB, ERK1, Nrf2 and HO-1 in cells were downregulated; and cleaved caspase 3 and cytochrome c release were upregulated after Hg2+ (2.5 μM) exposure and thus inducing apoptosis. Hg2+induced apoptosis was also confirmed by flow cytometry. However, pretreatment with DHLA (50 μM) for 3 h before Hg2+ (2.5 μM) exposure showed inhibition against iHg2+-induced cytotoxicity by reversing cell viability loss, LDH release, DNA damage, GSH decrease and inhibiting Hg accumulation. Moreover, DHLA pretreatment reversed the protein level expressions of akt, p-akt, mTOR, GR, NFkB, ERK1, Nrf2, HO-1, cleaved caspase 3 and cytochrome c. In conclusion, results showed that DHLA could attenuate Hg2+-induced cytotoxicity via limiting Hg accumulation, boosting up of antioxidant defense, and inhibition of apoptosis in cells.
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•Inorganic Hg2+ has toxic effects in PC12 cells, even in a small concentration.•Inorganic Hg induced apoptosis via intrinsic pathway in PC12 cells.•Pre-treatment of DHLA attenuates Hg−induced apoptosis through its antioxidant properties.
Mercury (Hg) is a hazardous metal, poses environmental problems with severe human health effects; whereas zinc (Zn) is an essential micronutrient with antioxidant properties. The purpose of this ...research was to investigate the effect of Zn on inorganic Hg-induced cytotoxicity in the PC12 cells. The cells were treated with HgCl2 (5 μM) for 48 h with/without 1 h prior ZnCl2-treatment (100 μM) and deliberated for further analysis. After 48 h of incubation with only Hg2+, the cell showed reduced cell viability, compromised cell membrane, DNA degradation, depleted glutathione level, ROS generation and drastically increased apoptosis. Subsequently, Hg2+-treated cells demonstrated a significant downregulation of akt, mTOR, ERK1, Nrf2, HO1, Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, and upregulation of p53, Bax, cytochrome c and cleaved caspase 3, indicating intrinsic apoptosis induction. However, cells pretreated with Zn2+ before Hg2+-exposure showed a significant improvement in cell viability, cell membrane, DNA damage, glutathione level, ROS amount and apoptotic cells, with a significant upregulation in mTOR, akt, ERK1, Nrf2, HO1, Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL, and downregulation in p53, Bax, cytochrome c and cleaved caspase 3, indicating inhibition of apoptosis. The findings suggested that Zn2+-pretreatment not only improves glutathione content but also induces activation of Nrf2-HO1 pathway, which would tend to suppress Hg-cytotoxicity.
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•Inorganic Hg induced intrinsic apoptosis in PC12 cells via ROS generation.•Zinc (Zn)-pretreatment inhibited inorganic Hg induced toxicity and apoptosis.•Zn-protection in iHg mediated toxicity is via its antioxidant properties.•Zn improved glutathione content and ROS amount against Hg-induced toxicity.•Zn upregulated nrf2 and HO1 in Hg induced cytotoxicity.
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