Extraction of sunnhemp fibre and its properties

An effort has been made to extract sunnhemp fibre from stalks of sunnhemp plants which are considered as agriculture waste after harvesting seeds. Sunnhemp (Crotalaria junceae) stalks have been rippled and stacked for about 20-30 days to dry the stalks. The dried stalks are then pre-treated with different retting agents, viz. urea and compost culture. Fibre is extracted by water retting (tank) method. Physico-chemical properties, microstructure and solubility tests of extracted sunnhemp fibre are performed. It is revealed that the urea treated stalks produce higher fibre yield with lower retting period. Urea treated sunnhemp stalks give relatively longer, finer and stronger fibres than the compost culture treated and control stalks. Lower per cent of lignin is observed in compost culture treated stalks. Sunnhemp fibre constitutes oblong shaped cross-section with elongated lumen. Like cellulosic fibres, sunnhemp fibre is soluble in concentrated acids and is least affected by solvents

Stability Indicating HPLC Method Development: A Review

High performance liquid chromatography is one of the most accurate method widely used for quantitative as well as qualitative analysis of drug product and it is used for determining drug product stability. Stability indicating HPLC methods are used to separate various drug related impurities that are formed during the synthesis or manufacturing of drug product. This article discusses the strategies and issues regarding the development of stability indicating HPLC system for drug substance. Keywords: stability indicating method, high performance liquid chromatography, drug substance

Microsphere: A Review

Microspheres having free flowing powder characteristics, which are consisting of synthetic polymers and  proteins. These are biodegradable in nature having particle size less than 200um. Microspheres are the multiparticulate drug delivery systems which are consisting from natural and synthetic material. Microsphere improves bioavailability, stability and target the drug to specific site at predetermined rate. types of microspheres are bioadhesive, floating, radioactive, polymeric and biodegradable microspheres. Microspheres are particularly used in novel drug delivery system. Keywords: microsphere, advantages, types, method of preprations

Learning internal iliac artery ligation and pelvic ureter course through cadaveric dissections

Background: Few surgical procedures, although vital, are not learnt and mastered during postgraduate courses in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Internal iliac artery ligation and tracing course of ureter are few of such surgical procedures. Cadaveric dissection sessions organized during postgraduate courses and as CME sessions (continued medical education) have proved useful in learning such unlearnt procedures. This article shares experiences from teaching internal iliac artery ligation, pelvic ureter course tracing and principles of many other unusual gynaecological surgical procedures to Obstetrics and Gynecology specialists and postgraduate students through CME programs involving cadaveric dissection.Methods: This involved organizing and conducting four cadaveric dissection CME workshops at three different teaching institutions. The components of these CMEs were lectures with power point presentations and two-way audio-visual interactive sessions while pelvic anatomy was demonstrated on cadavers through live dissections. Each CME was concluded by tactile experience to each delegate by handling the dissected cadavers; this was made possible by limiting delegate registration to 50 at each CME.Results: The surgical skills of internal iliac artery ligation and tracing course of pelvic ureter, which are not adequately and confidently learnt in routine postgraduate tenure, could be effectively transferred through cadaveric dissection.Conclusions: Revisiting anatomy dissection halls helps in learning rare but lifesaving surgical techniques. This can be achieved by arranging cadaveric dissection CMEs for practicing specialists. Such CMEs should be organized regularly and should be integrated into postgraduate curriculum

Preliminary evaluation of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) varieties at Konkan region of Maharashtra

The performance of 21 varieties of turmeric (Curcuma longa) for rhizome characters, yield and curcumin content was studied at Konkan region (Maharashtra). Salem was found to be the best variety, which recorded significantly higher weight of primary fingers (208.92 g), secondary fingers (243.75 g), yield plot' (11.99 kg) and yield hectare" (44,395 kg). The curcumin content was significantly higher in CA-71 (4.87%). The phenotypic and genotypic coefficient of variation, heritability and genetic advance on mean basis were appreciably high for yield and curcumin content. The magnitude for environmental coefficient of variation was very low

Venous thromboembolism in COVID-19 patients and prediction model: a multicenter cohort study

BACKGROUND: Patients with COVID-19 infection are commonly reported to have an increased risk of venous thrombosis. The choice of anti-thrombotic agents and doses are currently being studied in randomized controlled trials and retrospective studies. There exists a need for individualized risk stratification of venous thromboembolism (VTE) to assist clinicians in decision-making on anticoagulation. We sought to identify the risk factors of VTE in COVID-19 patients, which could help physicians in the prevention, early identification, and management of VTE in hospitalized COVID-19 patients and improve clinical outcomes in these patients. METHOD: This is a multicenter, retrospective database of four main health systems in Southeast Michigan, United States. We compiled comprehensive data for adult COVID-19 patients who were admitted between 1st March 2020 and 31st December 2020. Four models, including the random forest, multiple logistic regression, multilinear regression, and decision trees, were built on the primary outcome of in-hospital acute deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) and tested for performance. The study also reported hospital length of stay (LOS) and intensive care unit (ICU) LOS in the VTE and the non-VTE patients. Four models were assessed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve and confusion matrix. RESULTS: The cohort included 3531 admissions, 3526 had discharge diagnoses, and 6.68% of patients developed acute VTE (N = 236). VTE group had a longer hospital and ICU LOS than the non-VTE group (hospital LOS 12.2 days vs. 8.8 days, p \u3c 0.001; ICU LOS 3.8 days vs. 1.9 days, p \u3c 0.001). 9.8% of patients in the VTE group required more advanced oxygen support, compared to 2.7% of patients in the non-VTE group (p \u3c 0.001). Among all four models, the random forest model had the best performance. The model suggested that blood pressure, electrolytes, renal function, hepatic enzymes, and inflammatory markers were predictors for in-hospital VTE in COVID-19 patients. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with COVID-19 have a high risk for VTE, and patients who developed VTE had a prolonged hospital and ICU stay. This random forest prediction model for VTE in COVID-19 patients identifies predictors which could aid physicians in making a clinical judgment on empirical dosages of anticoagulation

The `Friction' of Vacuum, and other Fluctuation-Induced Forces

The static Casimir effect describes an attractive force between two conducting plates, due to quantum fluctuations of the electromagnetic (EM) field in the intervening space. {\it Thermal fluctuations} of correlated fluids (such as critical mixtures, super-fluids, liquid crystals, or electrolytes) are also modified by the boundaries, resulting in finite-size corrections at criticality, and additional forces that effect wetting and layering phenomena. Modified fluctuations of the EM field can also account for the `van der Waals' interaction between conducting spheres, and have analogs in the fluctuation--induced interactions between inclusions on a membrane. We employ a path integral formalism to study these phenomena for boundaries of arbitrary shape. This allows us to examine the many unexpected phenomena of the dynamic Casimir effect due to moving boundaries. With the inclusion of quantum fluctuations, the EM vacuum behaves essentially as a complex fluid, and modifies the motion of objects through it. In particular, from the mechanical response function of the EM vacuum, we extract a plethora of interesting results, the most notable being: (i) The effective mass of a plate depends on its shape, and becomes anisotropic. (ii) There is dissipation and damping of the motion, again dependent upon shape and direction of motion, due to emission of photons. (iii) There is a continuous spectrum of resonant cavity modes that can be excited by the motion of the (neutral) boundaries.Comment: RevTex, 2 ps figures included. The presentation is completely revised, and new sections are adde

Distinct roles for dynein light intermediate chains in neurogenesis, migration, and terminal somal translocation

Cytoplasmic dynein participates in multiple aspects of neocortical development. These include neural progenitor proliferation, morphogenesis, and neuronal migration. The cytoplasmic dynein light intermediate chains (LICs) 1 and 2 are cargo-binding subunits, though their relative roles are not well understood. Here, we used in utero electroporation of shRNAs or LIC functional domains to determine the relative contributions of the two LICs in the developing rat brain. We find that LIC1, through BicD2, is required for apical nuclear migration in neural progenitors. In newborn neurons, we observe specific roles for LIC1 in the multipolar to bipolar transition and glial-guided neuronal migration. In contrast, LIC2 contributes to a novel dynein role in the little-studied mode of migration, terminal somal translocation. Together, our results provide novel insight into the LICs' unique functions during brain development and dynein regulation overall.This project was supported by National Institutes of Health grants HD40182 and GM105536 to R.B. Vallee and the Fundação para Ciência e a Tecnologia MDPhD Scholarship PD/BD/113766/2015 to J.C. Gonçalves. During the final year, T.J. Dan-tas was supported by the Porto Neurosciences and Neurologic Disease Research Initiative at Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (Norte-01-0145-FED ER-000008