IN VIVO EVALUATION OF BUDESONIDE MICROSPHERES FOR COLON SPECIFIC DRUG DELIVERY

Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the in vivo behaviour of budesonide microspheres for colon targeted delivery.Methods: In vivo therapeutic effect was evaluated using trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) induced colitis in rats. The therapeutic effect was assessed by determining the damage score, clinical activity score, colon/body weight(C/B) ratio and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity measurement. The data were compared with standard drug 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA). The targeting efficiency of the formulation was assessed by X-ray studies on the rabbit.Results: The study showed that oral administration of budesonide microspheres exerted an affirmative impact on the colonic ulcer healing by decreasing the area of ulceration, reducing the mass of colon by improving the symptoms of colitis. MPO activity decreased significantly after oral administration of microspheres. Histopathological studies carried out also confirmed the result. The X-ray studies revealed that the formulations were able to target the colon.Conclusion: The in vivo study confirmed the ability of budesonide microspheres in targeting the colonic region.Keywords: Budesonide, Colitis, Targeted delivery, Myeloperoxidase, Ulceration, Clinical activity scor

Effect of cryopreservation on germination of seeds and zygotic embryos of Calamus shendurunii an endemic rattan of Western Ghats

Calamus shendurunii is an endemic rattan of Western Ghats having restricted distribution and limited population. As a prerequisite to device an appropriate method for ex situ conservation of the species, desiccation and cryopreservation of seeds and zygotic embryo has been studied. Seeds extracted from ripened fruits possessed 35 per cent moisture content and exhibited 97 per cent germination. Desiccation to 28 per cent moisture content reduced the germination to 77 per cent. Desiccation below 14 per cent moisture content caused complete loss of seed germinability. Seeds stored under ambient conditions (28±2oC/60% RH) for more than seven days reduced germination to less than 40 per cent. Thus, conventional storage is not effective for their ex situ conservation. As an alternative method, excised zygotic embryos were subjected to desiccation and storage in liquid nitrogen. The embryos tolerated desiccation down to 5 per cent exhibiting 60 to 90 per cent germination upon culture into MS medium. Desiccated embryos subjected to liquid nitrogen exposure showed post freeze recovery and germination (80-90%) equal to that of desiccated control samples. Thus the study proved the extreme recalcitrance of C. shendurunii seeds and embryo cryopreservation as an alternative method of their ex situ conservation in gene banks

Isolating the impacts of anthropogenic water use within the hydrological regime of north India

The effects of anthropogenic water use play a significant role in determining the hydrological cycle of north India. This paper explores anthropogenic impacts within the region's hydrological regime by explicitly including observed human water use behaviour, irrigation infrastructure and the natural environment in the CHANSE (Coupled Human And Natural Systems Environment) socio‐hydrological modelling framework. The model is constrained by observed qualitative and quantitative information collected in the study area, along with climate and socio‐economic variables from additional sources. Four separate scenarios, including business as usual (BAU, representing observed irrigation practices), groundwater irrigation only (where the influence of the canal network is removed), canal irrigation only (where all irrigation water is supplied by diverted surface water) and rainfed only (where all human interventions are removed) are used. Under BAU conditions the modelling framework closely matched observed groundwater levels. Following the removal of the canal network, which forces farmers to rely completely on groundwater for irrigation, water levels decrease, while under a canal‐only scenario flooding occurs. Under the rainfed‐only scenario, groundwater levels similar to current business‐as‐usual conditions are observed, despite much larger volumes of recharge and discharge entering and leaving the system under BAU practices. While groundwater abstraction alone may lead to aquifer depletion, the conjunctive use of surface and groundwater resources, which includes unintended contributions of canal leakage, create conditions similar to those where no human interventions are present. Here, the importance of suitable water management practices, in maintaining sustainable water resources, is shown. This may include augmenting groundwater resources through managed aquifer recharge and reducing the impacts on aquifer resources through occasional canal water use where possible. The importance of optimal water management practices that highlight trade‐offs between environmental impact and human wellbeing are shown, providing useful information for policy makers, water managers and user

Hidden Symmetries and Integrable Hierarchy of the N=4 Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Equations

We describe an infinite-dimensional algebra of hidden symmetries of N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills (SYM) theory. Our derivation is based on a generalization of the supertwistor correspondence. Using the latter, we construct an infinite sequence of flows on the solution space of the N=4 SYM equations. The dependence of the SYM fields on the parameters along the flows can be recovered by solving the equations of the hierarchy. We embed the N=4 SYM equations in the infinite system of the hierarchy equations and show that this SYM hierarchy is associated with an infinite set of graded symmetries recursively generated from supertranslations. Presumably, the existence of such nonlocal symmetries underlies the observed integrable structures in quantum N=4 SYM theory.Comment: 24 page

Chern-Simons Number Diffusion and Hard Thermal Loops on the Lattice

We develop a discrete lattice implementation of the hard thermal loop effective action by the method of added auxiliary fields. We use the resulting model to measure the sphaleron rate (topological susceptibility) of Yang-Mills theory at weak coupling. Our results give parametric behavior in accord with the arguments of Arnold, Son, and Yaffe, and are in quantitative agreement with the results of Moore, Hu, and Muller.Comment: 43 pages, 6 figure

Testing spatial noncommutativiy via the Aharonov-Bohm effect

The possibility of detecting noncommutative space relics is analyzed using the Aharonov-Bohm effect. We show that, if space is noncommutative, the holonomy receives non-trivial kinematical corrections that will produce a diffraction pattern even when the magnetic flux is quantized. The scattering problem is also formulated, and the differential cross section is calculated. Our results can be extrapolated to high energy physics and the bound $\theta \sim [ 10 {TeV}]^{-2}$ is found. If this bound holds, then noncommutative effects could be explored in scattering experiments measuring differential cross sections for small angles. The bound state Aharonov- Bohm effect is also discussed.Comment: 16 pp, Revtex 4, 2 fig, new references added. To appear in PR

Exploring the stability of super heavy elements: First measurement of the fission barrier of 254No

The gamma-ray multiplicity and total energy emitted by the heavy nucleus 254No have been measured at 2 different beam energies. From these measurements, the initial distributions of spin I and excitation energy E * of 254No were constructed. The distributions display a saturation in excitation energy, which allows a direct determination of the fission barrier. 254No is the heaviest shell-stabilized nucleus with a measured fission barrier. © Owned by the authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2014

Spectroscopy of neutron-deficient nuclei near the Z=82 closed shell via symmetric fusion reactions

In-beam and decay-spectroscopy studies of neutron-deficient nuclei near the Z=82 shell closure were carried out using the Fragment Mass Analyzer (FMA) and the Gammasphere array, in conjunction with symmetric fusion reactions and the Recoil Decay Tagging (RDT) technique. The primary motivation was to study properties of 179Tl and 180Tl, and their daughter, and grand-daughter isotopes. For the first time, in-beam structures associated with 179Tl and 180Tl were observed, as well as γ rays associated with the 180Tl α decay. No long-lived isomer was identified in 180Tl, in contrast with the known systematics for the heavier odd-odd Tl isotopes