Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a major cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, most often arising in the setting of chronic liver disease and cirrhosis. Although tyrosine kinase inhibitors have long represented the cornerstone of systemic therapy in advanced stages, therapeutic resistance and disease progression are frequent. Recent advances in immunotherapy, particularly immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway, have reshaped the therapeutic landscape of HCC. Pembrolizumab has demonstrated clinically meaningful antitumor activity and an acceptable safety profile in patients previously treated with sorafenib, as reported in pivotal clinical trials. This article highlights the therapeutic role of pembrolizumab as a second-line option in advanced HCC and discusses its place within current evidence-based treatment strategies, emphasizing the growing importance of immunotherapy in the multidisciplinary management of this disease.

Concrete durability is a critical factor influencing the longevity, safety, and sustainability of infrastructure, particularly under aggressive environmental conditions. Conventional ordinary Portland cement (OPC) concrete is susceptible to deterioration mechanisms such as chloride-induced reinforcement corrosion, sulphate attack, carbonation, and acid degradation, which compromise structural integrity and service life. The partial replacement of OPC with supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) has emerged as an effective strategy to enhance durability while reducing the environmental footprint of concrete. This review critically examines the performance of major SCMs, including fly ash, ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS), silica fume, metakaolin, rice husk ash (RHA), and limestone calcined clay cement (LC3), in aggressive environments. The review highlights how SCMs influence microstructural properties, such as pore refinement, chloride binding, and formation of secondary hydration products, thereby improving resistance to chloride ingress, sulphate attack, carbonation, and acid exposure. While SCMs generally enhance durability, certain limitations, such as increased carbonation depth in high-volume fly ash and slag systems, are discussed. Furthermore, factors influencing performance such as SCM type, replacement level, curing conditions, and exposure environment are analysed.

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a significant global public health issue, often exacerbated by microvascular and macrovascular damage, resulting in heightened morbidity and mortality. Recognizing modifiable and non-modifiable characteristics linked to diabetic complications is crucial for enhancing preventative efforts and directing personalized medication. Objectives: This study aimed to identify demographic, clinical, lifestyle, and treatment-related factors associated with microvascular and macrovascular complications among adults with diabetes mellitus. Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was performed at the National Diabetes Center, Al-Mustansiriya University, from September to December 2025, involving 100 persons with diabetes mellitus. Data on sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle factors, smoking status, clinical parameters, glycaemic control (HbA1c), treatment modalities, and diabetic complications were collected. Microvascular and macrovascular complications were defined as composite binary outcomes. Bivariate analyses were performed using appropriate parametric and non-parametric tests. Multivariable logistic regression models were constructed to identify independent predictors of microvascular and macrovascular complications, adjusting for potential confounders. Results: The prevalence of microvascular and macrovascular complications increased with advancing age and longer diabetes duration. Poor glycaemic control was associated with a higher burden of complications. In multivariable analysis, age was independently associated with microvascular complications, while diabetes duration showed a significant association with macrovascular complications. Smoking status and insulin-based therapy demonstrated trends toward higher complication risk after adjustment for demographic and clinical variables. Conclusions: Age, duration of diabetes, and glycaemic control are key determinants of diabetic complications. Biomarker-based clinical parameters combined with lifestyle and treatment factors provide valuable insight into disease staging and risk stratification. These findings support the importance of early intervention and individualized pharmacotherapeutic strategies to reduce long-term complications in patients with diabetes mellitus.

Background: Women education is an important determinant of social development, economic growth and public health status. At the policy level, India has been trying to address it but regional inequalities continue to remain, especially in semi-urban and rural districts of the North East. Objective: This study aimed to examine the situation of women’s education status in Hojai District, Assam and determine the major socio-demographic, economic and institutional determinants that influences educational attainment. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2021 to November 2021 among 350 women using an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire. Results were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: Secondary and higher secondary education was predominant in terms of achievement. Parents' education, family, marriage at an early age and accessibility to schools were significantly related to the educational status. Conclusion: Women’s education in Hojai District is improving slowly but social & economic limitation is blocking the higher educational achievement. Bespoke interventions that respond to poverty at the household, gendered norms and institutional access are necessary.

The purpose of the study was to find out the effect of strength and endurance training programme followed by yoga practice, on playing ability among female intercollegiate hockey players. For this purpose, 45 female hockey players who were played in various intercollegiate tournaments in the age category between 19 and 25 years were selected for the study. They were divided into three equal groups, each group consisting of fifteen subjects in which two experimental groups and one control group, in which the group I (n=15) underwent strength training followed by yoga practice, group – II (n = 15) underwent endurance training followed by yoga practice for three days (alternative days) per week for twelve weeks and group III (n = 15) acted as control, which did not participate in any training apart from their regular hockey game practice. The subjects were tested on selected criterion variable as hockey playing ability at prior to and immediately after the training period. For testing the hockey playing ability was assessed by administering Stewart Pitchers’ Hockey skill test, consists of dribbling, passing and goal shooting. Paired sample ‘t’ test was used to find out any difference between pre- and post-test mean values. The analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to find out the significant difference if any, between the experimental groups and control group on selected criterion variable separately. Since there were three groups involved in the present study, the Scheffé S test was used as post-hoc test. The selected criterion variables such as Stewart Pitchers’ Hockey skill test, consists of dribbling, passing and goal shooting were improved significantly for all the training groups when compared with the control group. But there was no significant difference found between the training groups on selected criterion variables.

HIV infections are difficult to treat disease till date. Not many drugs are there for treating it. In this work effort has been made to identify probable drugs with anti-HIV effects using a technique developed and presented in previous work.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a global metabolic disorder characterized by chronic hyperglycemia resulting from impaired insulin secretion, insulin resistance, or both. Its prevalence continues to rise worldwide, with substantial morbidity linked to microvascular and macrovascular complications that influence overall health and the delivery of dental care. In dental practice, DM is clinically significant because it modifies host immunity, vascular function, inflammatory regulation, and tissue metabolism mechanisms that collectively increase susceptibility to oral infections and compromise healing. Common orofacial manifestations include increased risk and severity of gingivitis and periodontitis with alveolar bone loss, salivary gland dysfunction and xerostomia, oral mucosal lesions (including candidal infections and lichenoid reactions), dysgeusia, burning mouth symptoms, and, in severe settings, opportunistic deep fungal infections and osteomyelitis. These changes directly affect treatment planning across specialties. Prosthodontic management requires careful attention to salivary hypofunction, denture-related candidiasis, mucosal fragility, residual ridge resorption, and delayed wound healing, with emphasis on atraumatic techniques, hygiene reinforcement, and appropriate scheduling. Endodontic practice must consider the bidirectional relationship between apical periodontitis and glycemic control, the possibility of slower periapical healing, increased residual lesions, and the need for meticulous infection control and stress reduction to limit hyperglycemic episodes. Orthodontic therapy, particularly in patients with suboptimal glycemic control, demands thorough periodontal screening, the use of light physiological forces, close monitoring, and coordination with the patient’s medical team to reduce risks of infection, impaired healing, and hypoglycemic emergencies. This review synthesizes systemic and oral evidence to provide practical, clinically oriented recommendations for safe and effective dental management of patients with DM, with glycemic control and interprofessional collaboration as central determinants of favorable outcomes.