Quantitative analysis, distributional pattern and species diversity of woody plant species of Lamberi Forest Range, Rajouri, J&K, India

Quantitative analysis, distributional pattern and species diversity of woody plant species of Lamberi Range of Rajouri Forest division, J&K, has been carried out by laying 50 quadrats (10m X 10m size) for trees and 100 quadrats (5m X 5m size) for shrubs. Various phytosociological parameters like frequency, density, abundance, importance value index IVI and diversity indices for trees and shrubs has been used to reveal the plant community structure of the area. The abundance to frequency ratio (A/F) for different species was determined to assess the distribution pattern of the species (regular <0.025, random 0.025-0.05 and contagious >0.05) which indicated the contagious distribution for all the species. Survey of the area revealed presence of 63 woody plant species from the study area comprising of 43 trees and 20 shrubs. Pinus roxburghii (IVI 49.7, Abundance 81.1) and Carissa opaca (IVI 81.12 abundance 7.05) have been recorded as the dominant tree and shrub, respectively, of the area. The computation of diversity indices showed that species richness and evenness i.e Shannon- Weiner’s, Margalef’s and Menhinick’s remained high for trees and low for shrubs. Simpson’s index of dominance was also high for trees. Species which needs priorities for conservation and protection and also required to be monitored have also been highlighted

In-silico designing of an inhibitor against mTOR FRB domain: Therapeutic implications against breast cancer

Worldwide breast cancer causes significant fatalities in women. The effective therapeutic solution for treating the disease is using new and probable antagonistic biologically available ligands as anticancer drugs. To identify a successful therapeutic approach, the scientific community is now interested in creating novel ligands that in the future may be used as anticancer drugs. The mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a protein kinase connected to several processes governing immunity, metabolism, cell development, and survival. The proliferation and metastasis of tumors have both been linked to the activation of the mTOR pathway. Female breast cancer represents about 15.3% of all new cancer cases in the U.S. alone and is frequently diagnosed among women aged 55 to 69 years. Given that the P13K/AKT/mTOR pathway is one of the most often activated in cancer, much attention has been paid to its resistance as a novel oncological treatment approach. mTOR/FRB Domain’s recruitment cleft as, well as substrate recruitment mechanism, was targeted using a structural-based approach. A series of selective inhibitory small molecules have been designed and screened for the best inhibiting target binding triad of the FRB Domain with better ADME and no detectable toxic effects

Effects of mycorrhiza and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria inoculants on rice crops in Northern India

Mutualistic root microorganisms such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can ameliorate plant nutrition through an extended extra-radical hyphal network and by nutrient mobilisation. Running under the Indo-Swiss Collaboration in Biotechnology (ISCB), our project focuses on the integration of AMF and PGPR as biofertilisers in wheat-rice and wheat-black gram systems

Lichen diversity of Padder Valley Kishtwar (J&K), India

Lichens are one of the most successful group of organisms and form an important aspect of biodiversity of any region. But still lichens are under explored in most of regions.  The present work has been carried out in Padder Valley, Kishtwar, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). A thorough survey of the lichen diversity from all the possible habitats was conducted in the study area which indicated the presence of 110 species belonging to 54 genera and 23 families. Parmiliaceae has been recorded as the largest family (16 genera, 27 species) and is followed by Physciaceae (8 genera, 14 species). Four families have been observed to be monotypic. Lecanora has been recorded as dominant genera with 7 species followed by Peltigera with 5 species. Corticolous was most preferred substratum exhibited by 61 species while foliose was the most dominant type of growth form represented by 52 species. The study has added 94 lichen taxa as new records for district Kishtwar and is first of its kind in Padder Valley, J&K

Sistema de administración de fármacos autoemulsionante: una estrategia para mejorar la biodisponibilidad oral

Objetivo: La vía oral siempre ha sido la ruta preferida de administración de fármacos en muchas enfermedades y hasta hoy es la primera forma investigada en el desarrollo de nuevas formas de dosificación. El principal problema en las formulaciones de fármacos orales es la baja y errática biodisponibilidad, lo que resulta fundamentalmente por la escasa solubilidad en agua, con lo que plantean problemas en su formulación. Para la administración terapéutica de los grupos activos lipófilos (BCS clase II drogas), las formulaciones a base de lípidos están teniendo cada vez más atención. Métodos: Con ese objetivo, a partir de los sitios web de PubMed, HCAplus, Thomson, y sus registros se utilizaron como fuentes principales para llevar a cabo la búsqueda de los artículos de investigación más importantes publicados sobre el tema. A continuación, la información fue analizada cuidadosamente, poniendo de relieve los resultados más importantes en la formulación y desarrollo de sistemas de administración de fármacos auto-emulsionante micro, así como su actividad terapéutica. Resultados: El sistema de administración de fármacos autoemulsionante (SMEDDS) ha ganado más atención debido a la mejorada que permite la reducción de la biodisponibilidad oral en dosis, los perfiles temporales más consistentes de la absorción del fármaco, la orientación selectiva de fármaco (s) hacia la ventana de absorción específica en el tracto gastrointestinal, y la protección del fármaco (s) desde el entorno poco receptivo en el intestino. Conclusiones: Este artículo proporciona una visión completa de SMEDDS como un enfoque prometedor para abordar eficazmente el problema de moléculas poco solubles.Aim: Oral route has always been the favorite route of drug administration in many diseases and till today it is the first way investigated in the development of new dosage forms. The major problem in oral drug formulations is low and erratic bioavailability, which mainly results from poor aqueous solubility, thereby pose problems in their formulation. For the therapeutic delivery of lipophilic active moieties (BCS class II drugs), lipid based formulations are inviting increasing attention. Methods: To that aim, from the web sites of PubMed, HCAplus, Thomson, and Registry were used as the main sources to perform the search for the most significant research articles published on the subject. The information was then carefully analyzed, highlighting the most important results in the formulation and development of self-micro emulsifying drug delivery systems as well as its therapeutic activity. Results: Self-emulsifying drug delivery system (SMEDDS) has gained more attention due to enhanced oral bio-availability enabling reduction in dose, more consistent temporal profiles of drug absorption, selective targeting of drug(s) toward specific absorption window in GIT, and protection of drug(s) from the unreceptive environment in gut. Conclusions: This article gives a complete overview of SMEDDS as a promising approach to effectively deal with the problem of poorly soluble molecules

Effect of Ni ion irradiation on microstructure and corrosion properties of Zr59Nb3Cu20Al10Ni8 amorphous alloy

The amorphous Zr59Nb3Cu20Al10Ni8 alloy has been irradiated by 100 MeV Ni+7 ion beam at the fluence rates of 1×1013 and 1×1014 ions/cm2 at room and elevated temperature. The effect of irradiation on structure sensitive properties of Zr-based amorphous alloys has been investigated in this study using XRD and FESEM and potentiodynamic polarization study. The results reveals that there are no significant changes in the microstructure at lower fluence rate but the formation of nanocrystalline structures have been observed at the higher fluence rates and the results have been corroborated using corrosion studies

Synergistic Effect of Plant Growth Regulators on Micropropagation of Eclipta alba: A Plant with Diverse Medicinal Properties

Synergism between various plant growth regulators is reported to be a key factor for the development of efficient in vitro propagation for any plant. Therefore, the current study examines the synergistic impact of plant growth regulators on in vitro propagation of Eclipta alba, an important medicinal plant possessing diverse medicinal properties. For the establishment of aseptic cultures, nodal segments were employed as explants on MS medium supplemented with 2.5 μM of 6-benzyle adenine (BA). Varying concentrations of BA and Kinetin (KIN)(0.0-5.0 μM), either alone or in combination with α- naphthalene acetic acid (NAA @ 0.0-5.0 μM) and indole 3-acetic acid (IAA@ 0.0-5.0 μM), were found to be effective for promoting shoot proliferation. Compared to KIN, BA was found to promote shoot proliferation and elongation more effectively. Further, the addition of 0.5μM NAA in the MS medium supplemented with 2.5 μM of BA increased shoot multiplication and elongation frequency from 58 and 17 percent to 65 and 21 percent respectively. The rooting frequency was found to be maximum on 1/2 strength MS medium supplemented with 5.0 μM of indole 3-butyric acid (IBA), which was found to be a superior auxin for inducing roots as compared to the NAA and IAA. With a 75% survival rate, in vitro raised plantlets were effectively acclimatized first in a poly house and later under greenhouse conditions. Molecular analysis was carried out using RAPD markers, with results indicating that the micropropagated plants were genetically identical to the mother plant. The developed micropropagation protocol for E. alba can be used at the commercial level for the mass multiplication of plants

Management of Labour Pain by using non-pharmacological Measures

Introduction: Pain during childbirth is a special experience of a woman that vary from one individual to another, that is caused by uterine contractions and cervical dilatation during labour. Nature and level of pain influence by various physiology, psychology and environmental factors. Thus, pain relief during childbirth is essential therefore, the delivery period will be uneventful. Non-pharmacological pain relief measures: Controlling pain without harm to mother, non-pharmacological measures assure in reducing labour pain with less or even no harm to the mother and fetus. These measures include sensory stimulation measures eg. breathing technique, aromatherapy and music therapy that provides sensory input to the brain to promote relaxation, enhance positive thoughts and transmission of nociceptive stimuli of pain during labour and cutaneous stimulation measures include back massage, changing position, heat and cold application, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, hydrotherapy and acupressure that work as to stimulation of nerves by using skin manipulation in an attempt to reduce pain impulses to the brain. Conclusion: The major aspects of midwifery care are supporting women during labour pain thus, they must understand the choices of the mother\u27s for manage with labour pain. However, non-pharmacological measures are helpful for decelerating pain and discomfort during labour which is easy to given and cost-effective.  Key Words: Breathing technique, aromatherapy and music therapy, back massage, changing position, application of heat and cold, Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, acupressure and hydrotherapy