DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF NOVEL ESTIMATION TECHNIQUES FOR IN VITRO DISSOLUTION STUDY AND VALIDATION PROTOCOL FOR ESCITALOPRAM AS ANTIDEPRESSANT DRUG AND THEIR FORMULATION

Objective: To develop and validate the RP-HPLC method and in vitro dissolution study for escitalopram as antidepressant drug and their formulation. Methods: The chromatographic separation was done by using a C-18, 150 mm column and a mobile phase consisting of phosphate buffer (40%) and acetonitrile HPLC grade (60%). Detection was carried out at 211 nm with a flow rate of 1 ml/min with an injection of 20 μl. The method was validated with different parameters such as linearity, precision, accuracy, robustness, and limit of detection (LOD), the limit of quantification (LOQ) according to ICH guidelines. Results: The linear calibration curve was obtained in the concentration range of 0-50 μg/ml and gave an average correlation factor 0.992. The retention time was observed at 2.96 min. The Minimum concentration level at which the analyte can be reliably detected (LOD) and quantified (LOQ) were found to be 0.03 and 0.09 µg/ml, respectively. The relative standard deviation of intra and the inter-day assay was found to be less than 2. The dissolution studies show moderate dissolution (23.4%) after 45 min, but it reaches a plateau after approximately 25 min. Conclusion: This method was found to be simple, rapid and economic with less run time. The validated parameters manifest the method is reliable, linear, accurate and precise as well as robust with minor variations in chromatographic parameters. Therefore, the developed method can be applied for both routine analysis and quality control assay and it could be a very powerful tool to investigate the stability of escitalopram

FORMULATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF CURCUMIN BASED EMULGEL IN TREATMENT AND RECURRENCE OF VAGINAL CANDIDIASIS

Objective: The main causative agent of vaginal candidiasis is Candida albicans and it develops resistance against several synthetic antifungal drugs and it has a high rate of infection in women. According to WHO report, around 75% of women are infected by Candida albicans and 50 % are infected a second time by Candida albicans. Therefore, we choose Curcumin an antifungal agent that had reported antifungal properties against the various fungal species. The Curcumin-containing emulgel based microemulsion system was prepared for greater retention time and penetration across the vaginal mucosa. Methods: The screening of oil phase, surfactant, and cosurfactant for microemulsion formulation was selected based on the solubility study and followed by the construction of the pseudoternary phase diagram. The oil phase, surfactant and co-surfactant are selected from the pseudoternary phase diagram for the formulation of a stable microemulsion. The prepared Curcumin-loaded microemulsion was characterized by globule size, polydispersity index, Zeta potential, accelerated stability study, drug content, percent transmittance and antifungal assay by broth microdilution technique. The formulated microemulsion was converted into a vaginal emulgel by using Pluronic@F127. The formulated curcumin-loaded emulgel was characterized by different evaluation parameters and antifungal study by agar well diffusion method. Results: The result showed that the average globule size of emulgel was 286.3 nm, polydispersity index was 0.241, Zeta potential was+19.20 mv, conductivity was 0.0390 mS/cm, and drug content was found to be 95.58%. The texture of formulated emulgel was found to be soft and smooth, with shear-thinning, pseudoplastic behavior, and easily spreadable. The in vitro permeability study of emulgel shows slow and complete release of curcumin in 10 h. The microemulsion and developed emulgel showed promising antifungal activity against Candida albicans. Conclusion: The developed curcumin-loaded emulgel showed promising antifungal activity against Candida albicans as compared to the Fluconazole as an standard antifungal antibiotic. Our formulated Curcumin-containing emulgel can be a potential alternative as compared to the conventional dosage form for the treatment of vaginal candidiasis

Attracting Foreign Direct Investment in Bangladesh

This article seeks to depict the needs of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Bangladesh along with the required determinants of congenial investment environments. In terms of the identified determinants of FDI, this study delineates the competitive and inductive factors other FDI recipient countries have in comparison to that of Bangladesh. The study also identifies the determinants of FDI that Bangladesh have. Reasons of why Bangladesh could not attract enough FDI have also been sought. The feasible attractive measures required in attracting the much-needed investment in the competitive FDI market have also been shown. In doing this, international competitors of FDI have been traced to locate the position of Bangladesh. Secondary published data from governments and other significant agencies have been comprehensively studied to get the required data in completing the study

Metallographic Image Fusion

Image processing plays important role in manufacturing, aerospace, biomedical fields. To determine the classification of metallic sample, edge structure and images without blur are required. Instead of finding the noise kernel blur section of images can be removed by using multiple images fusion. There are different methods used for image fusions like average method, maxima, wavelet transform. For image fusion discrete wavelet transform is used. Image fusion improves the quality of image, data content. In this paper three images are used to fuse together. This images having standard size of 640x480 pixels. Image fusion improves the quality so that edge structure can be determined. According to edge structure the classification is done using ASTME standards

Prediction of RNA Secondary Structure Using Butterfly Optimization Algorithm

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) structure is vital to its ability to function within the cell. The ability to predict RNA structure is essential to implementing new medications and understanding genetic illnesses. It is also important in synthetic and computational biology. All these functions are directly related to its secondary structure. Also prediction of RNA secondary structure process is the most significant step to determining the tertiary structure of RNA. On account of this, prediction of secondary structure of RNA is the crying topic in bioinformatics. In this research, we present the swarm-based metaheuristic Butterfly Optimization Algorithm (BOA) method for predicting the secondary structure of RNA. The main feather of the BOA is that it can conduct both local and global search simultaneously. According to the problem perspective, we have redesigned the operators of BOA to perform global and local search operations in different ways. We have followed a thermodynamic model for the selection of the stable secondary structure with minimum Gibbs free energy. Predicting the minimum free energy value we also developed an “Optimize” function to search the new optimize structure. This function increases the prediction efficiency, creating new stable structure and also decreases the time complexity of global searching procedure. We have used a public dataset to perform the prediction operation. To accuse our prediction efficiency, we have compared our outcomes to existing popular algorithms. The result shows that the proposed approach can predict secondary RNA structure better than other state-of-the-art algorithms

FORMULATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF SUSTAINED RELEASE MATRIX TABLETS OF LORNOXICAM

Lornoxicam is a NSAID having oxicam class mainly prescribed in the treatment of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. NSAID have the potential to relieve the pain and inflammation without the immunosuppressive and metabolic side effects associated with corticosteroids. Generally the classification of NSAID is applied to drugs that inhibit one or more steps in the metabolism of Arachidonic Acid (AA). In general, NSAID do not inhibit lipoxygenase formation or the formation of other inflammatory mediators. Due to its more biological half-life i.e. 3-5 hrs. in India, the dosage form is available in 8-16 mg, it can be increased upto 24 mg/day if necessary. The main objectives of present investigation are to confirm the drug by various analytical techniques, to study the drug excipients compatibility, to avoid the dose as well as the frequency of the dosage form and to perform the stability. The tablet can be developed with the combination of HPMC K 100M and Ethyl Cellulose as a matrix former. Lornoxicam is NSAID that has numerous functions in the body. It can be absorbed rapidly and completely from gastrointestinal track after the oral administration. Absolute bioavailability of Lornoxicam is 90-100%. No first pass effect is observed. It is found in the plasma in the unchanged form and as its hydroxylated metabolite. The hydroxylated metabolite exhibits no pharmacological activity. CYP2C3 has been shown to be the primary enzyme responsible for the biotransformation of Lornoxicam. Approximately 2/3 part of Lornoxicam is eliminated via the liver and 1/3 via the kidneys as inactive substance. Lornoxicam inhibits the production of prostaglandins by inhibiting the action of cyclooxygenase, which regulates the conversion of Arachidonic Acid to Prostaglandins. Lornoxicam mainly prescribed in the treatment of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, and also in the management of ankylosing spondylitis, acute sciatica and low back pain.Keywords: Lornoxicam, Sustained release, matrix

Monitoring the millennium development goals: the potential role of the INDEPTH Network

The Millennium Declaration, adopted by the United Nations (UN) in 2000, set a series of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as priorities for UN member countries, committing governments to realising eight major MDGs and 18 associated targets by 2015. Progress towards these goals is being assessed by tracking a series of 48 technical indicators that have since been unanimously adopted by experts. This concept paper outlines the role member Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems (HDSSs) of the INDEPTH Network could play in monitoring progress towards achieving the MDGs. The unique qualities of the data generated by HDSSs lie in the fact that they provide an opportunity to measure or evaluate interventions longitudinally, through the long-term follow-up of defined populations

Tuning the Magnetic Anisotropy at a Molecule-Metal Interface

International audienceWe demonstrate that a C 60 overlayer enhances the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of a Co thin film, inducing an inverse spin reorientation transition from in plane to out of plane. The driving force is the C 60 =Co interfacial magnetic anisotropy that we have measured quantitatively in situ as a function of the C 60 coverage. Comparison with state-of-the-art ab initio calculations show that this interfacial anisotropy mainly arises from the local hybridization between C 60 p z and Co d z 2 orbitals. By generalizing these arguments, we also demonstrate that the hybridization of C 60 with a Fe(110) surface decreases the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. These results open the way to tailor the interfacial magnetic anisotropy in organic-material–ferromagnet systems

Assessing impacts of projected climate on pigeonpea crop at Gulbarga

Pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan(L.) Millsp] is an important semi-arid legume crop in India. In Karnataka, pigeonpea is largely grown in the northern parts of the state especially in Gulbarga, which is called “Pulse Bowl of Karnataka”. Climate change is one of the major challenges being faced by agriculture in the Semi-Arid Tropics (SAT) of the country. Pigeonpea productivity in Gulbarga is affected by large variations in rainfall amount and distribution, increased temperatures, depleting soil productivity and disturbing water balance. Based on daily weather data of 41 years (1969-2009), productivity and water use of pigeonpea under eleven climate scenarios are assessed using the pigeonpea model in Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM). Simulations are done with automatic sowing based on rainfall and soil moisture availability during the sowing window (15 Jun to 20 Aug) and following recommended crop management practices. Simulations show that increase in temperature by 2°C could reduce pigeonpea yields by about 16%. Rainfall decrease of 10% from present coupled with 2°C increase in temperature could reduce yields further by 4%, making the total reduction to be at 20%. Crop duration was shortened by about 10 days and water use reduced by 25 mm with increase in temperature. Increased rainfall scenarios have considerably reduced the adverse effects of higher temperature. Breeding of varieties tolerant to higher temperature and adoption of better water management (both in-situ and ex-situ) practices achieved through integrated watershed approach could play a major role in sustaining pigeonpea productivity under future climate scenarios

Socio-demographic differentials of adult health indicators in Matlab, Bangladesh: self-rated health, health state, quality of life and disability level

Background: Mortality has been declining in Bangladesh since the mid- twentieth century, while fertility has been declining since the late 1970s, and the country is now passing through the third stage of demographic transition. This type of demographic transition has produced a huge youthful population with a growing number of older people. For assessing health among older people, this study examines self-rated health, health state, quality of life and disability level in persons aged 50 and over. Data and methods: This is a collaborative study between the World Health Organization Study on global AGEing and adult health and the International Network for the Demographic Evaluation of Populations and Their Health in developing countries which collected data from eight countries. Two sources of data from the Matlab study area were used: health indicator data collected as a part of the study, together with the ongoing Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) data. For the survey, a total of 4,000 randomly selected people aged 50 and over (HDSS database) were interviewed. The four health indicators derived from these data are self-rated health (five categories), health state (eight domains), quality of life (eight items) and disability level (12 items). Self-rated health was coded as dummy while scores were calculated for the rest of the three health indicators using WHO-tested instruments. Results: After controlling for all the variables in the regression model, all four indicators of health (self-rated health, health state, quality of life and disability level) documented that health was better for males than females, and health deteriorates with increasing age. Those people who were in current partnerships had generally better health than those who were single, and better health was associated with higher levels of education and asset score. Conclusions: To improve the health of the population it is important to know health conditions in advance rather than just before death. This study finds that all four health indicators vary by socio-demographic characteristics. Hence, health intervention programmes should be targeted to those who suffer and are in the most need, the aged, female, single, uneducated and poor