Anti-mycobacterial activity of Piper longum L. fruit extracts against multi drug resistant Mycobacterium Spp

A long tradition of using pepper as to fight against several ailments by the local tribal people is still in the practice, in many parts of the rural India. So utilizing this tribal knowledge base for this highly medicinal plant, an attempt was made to isolate some novel natural bioactive compounds with potential activity against multidrug resistant (MDR) Mycobacterium. A bioassay guided fractionation of Pippali (Piper longum L.) was performed in five different organic solvents and their activities were monitored against different pathogenic bacteria including MDR Mycobacterium. Different fractions were screened for the bioactivity against Mycobacterium, and the structure of bioactive compound was characterized with H1 and C13 NMR. An ethyl acetate fraction of Pippali extract was found active against M. smegmatis (3000µg ml-1) and M. tuberculosis (39 µg ml-1). It also shows very significant activity against other bacterial strains like E.coli (152 µg ml-1), Staphylococcus aureus (14 µg ml-1), Salmonella typhi (180 µg ml-1), Enterococcus faecalis (15 µg ml-1), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (52 µg ml-1). This fraction of ethyl acetate was then purified and characterized as piperine [5-(1, 3-benzodioxol-5-yl)-1-piperidin-1-ylpenta-2,4-dien-1-one], a well known alkaloid from this plant. Bioactivity guided fractionation concludes that Piperine is the only active ingredients in various fractions of fruit extract evaluated for antibacterial activity. Fraction having piperine has significant activity against multi drug resistant strains of Mycobacterium spp. than other purified fractions of fruit extract. The current finding encourages us to develop new alternative medicine that includes piperine alone and/or in combination with other drugs to fight against the drug resistance among Mycobacterial strains.   

Electron-Hole Asymmetry in the Electron-phonon Coupling in Top-gated Phosphorene Transistor

Using in-situ Raman scattering from phosphorene channel in an electrochemically top-gated field effect transistor, we show that its phonons with A$_g$ symmetry depend much more strongly on concentration of electrons than that of holes, while the phonons with B$_g$ symmetry are insensitive to doping. With first-principles theoretical analysis, we show that the observed electon-hole asymmetry arises from the radically different constitution of its conduction and valence bands involving $\pi$ and $\sigma$ bonding states respectively, whose symmetry permits coupling with only the phonons that preserve the lattice symmetry. Thus, Raman spectroscopy is a non-invasive tool for measuring electron concentration in phosphorene-based nanoelectronic devices

Antenatal Screening for Hemoglobinopathies with HPLC

Introduction: Hemoglobinopathies are the most commonly encountered monogenic disorders of blood in Southeast Asia and Indian subcontinent. Screening of individuals at increased risk of being carriers for thalassemia and hemoglobinopathies, can identify couples with a 25% risk of having a pregnancy with a significant genetic disorder, for which prenatal diagnosis is possible. This study is done to know the prevalence of hemoglobinopathies and variant of haemoglobin using cation exchange high performance liquid chromatography (CEHPLC).Materials and Methods: 2 ml of venous blood was collected in EDTA vials from the pregnant mothers after informed consent. The blood was subjected to complete hemogram, peripheral blood smear and HPLC using Variant Hemoglobin Testing System (BioRad Laboratories). Beta Thalassemia short programme was used. Descriptive analysis was done and data is presented in numbers and percentages.Results: 467 blood samples from various ethnic groups were evaluated. 70 (14.99%) samples showed features of hemoglobinopathies by HPLC. There were 46 (9.85%) cases of HbE heterozygous,12 (2.57%) cases of HbE homozygous, 9(1.93%) cases of Beta Thalassemia Trait, 2 (0.43%) cases of double heterozygous and 1 (0.21%) case of Hb-D Iran.Conclusion: This study showed a high prevalence of hemoglobinopathies in antenatal mothers necessitating an appropriate screening strategy for antenatal mothers. We also concluded that HPLC is a sensitive technique for studying hemoglobinopathies during pregnancy and may be utilized for screening

HYPOMETHYLATION OF DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID IN TESTICULAR TISSUE DUE TO ARSENIC EXPOSURE IN MICE

ABSTRACTObjective: Among various environmental carcinogens, arsenic is highly sensitive and possesses potential to cause several diseases including cancer.Nevertheless, arsenic has not been observed to induce mutation directly but is involved in epigenetic changes. Hypomethylation of oncogenes andhypermethylation of tumor suppressor genes are reported to be associated with accumulation of arsenic. The present investigation demonstrates adirect correlation arsenic and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) methylation.Methods: Swiss albino mice were grouped as control and arsenic treated for 12 weeks. Arsenic concentration in blood and testes was analyzed byatomic absorption spectrometer. Furthermore, DNA was extracted from the testes of mice by DNA purification kit and used for determining globalmethylation in mice genome with the help of MethylFlash Methylated DNA Quantification Kit.Results: Arsenic concentration in arsenic-treated mice was significantly higher than the control group in both blood and testes. Interestingly, arsenicconcentration in blood was recorded to be higher than testes in the arsenic-treated group with significance (p<0.0001). Moreover, a lower percentageof cytosine of mice genome was found to be methylated in arsenic-treated mice group than control group (p<0.0001).Conclusion: Greater concentration of arsenic in mice leads to hypomethylation of mice genome globally. Arsenic fosters deregulation of geneexpression by modifying methylation of CpG island of the promoter region. Epigenetic study is of prime importance in the field of oncology. Drugdevelopment for repressing alteration of DNA methylation is imperative for cancer treatment.Keywords: Arsenic, Cancer, Deoxyribonucleic acid, Methylation, Carcinogen

SURVEILLANCE OF MORTALITY: FROM A TERTIARY CARE TEACHING HOSPITAL OF EASTERN INDIA IN PERSONS WITH AND WITHOUT DIABETES MELLITUS

Objective: There is abundant knowledge about the gravity of global load of diabetes mellitus (DM). There are conflicting reports on the cause of death from different parts of the world. In India, there are not enough studies to establish the cause of death in DM. To find out the mortality pattern in DM and non-DM (NDM) in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Eastern India.Methods: Retrospective analysis of in-hospital mortality in a tertiary care hospital in Eastern India, from January 2012 to December 2015.Results: There were a total of 1590 deaths of which 442 were having DM and 1148 did not have DM (NDM). Mean age of death for nondiabetics was 66.4 years (M:F = 67.5:65.3) and that for diabetics were 62.7 years (M:F = 63.5:60.04) which was not statistically significant (p=0.9) though diabetics died younger by 4 years. On analyzing the specific cause of death, coronary artery disease (CAD) was 14.71% in DM and 1.57% in NDM (p=0.0001). Chronic kidney disease (CKD) was 18.55% in DM and 1.92% in NDM (p=0.0001). Congestive heart failure was 7.27% in DM and 1.83% in NDM (p=0.0001). CVA was 13.57% in DM and 1.66% in NDM (p=0.0001). Infection was the most common cause of death (39.37%) in DM, but in NDM also this was quite high 34.41% (p=0.21). The death due to CVA in DM was more in hemorrhage as compared to ischemic (p=0.00001).Conclusion: We found causes of death in DM were an infection, CKD, CAD, CVA, and CHF in descending order in this part of the world. The diabetes patients had lesser hospital stay than nondiabetes patients (p=0.009)

Mathematical modelling of a system for solar PV efficiency improvement using compressed air for panel cleaning and cooling

The efficiency of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels is greatly reduced by panel soiling and high temperatures. A mechanism for eliminating both of these sources of inefficiencies is presented by integrating solar PV generation with a compressed air system. High-pressure air can be stored and used to blow over the surface of PV panels, removing present dust and cooling the panels, increasing output power. A full-system mathematical model of the proposed system is presented, comprised of compressed air generation and storage, panel temperature, panel cleaning, and PV power generation. Simulation results indicate the benefit of employing compressed air for cleaning and cooling solar PV panels. For a fixed volume of compressed air, it is advantageous to blow air over the panels early in the day if the panel is soiled or when solar radiation is most abundant with the highest achievable flow rate if the panel is clean. These strategies have been shown to achieve the greatest energy captures for a single PV panel. When comparing the energy for air compression to the energy gain from cleaning a single PV over a two-week period, an energy ROI of 23.8 is determined. The system has the potential to eliminate the requirement for additional manual cleaning of solar PV panels

Vitamin D status in pregnant women visiting a tertiary care center of North Eastern India

Background: Studies of vitamin D (VD) physiology suggest that effects of vitamin D deficiency (VDD) could be much broader than rickets including cardiovascular disease, cancers, diabetes, infection, and allergy and pregnancy complications. Data regarding the prevalence of hypovitaminosis in pregnancy are scanty especially in north eastern part of India. Therefore, this study has undertaken with the intention to find out prevalence and outcome of hypovitaminosis of VD in pregnancy. Materials and Method: In total, 177 pregnant women with singleton pregnancy, 32 ng/mL]. VDD was present in 84.18% subjects. VD insufficiency was present in 12.44% of cases. There is association of preeclampsia, cesarean section, and low birth weight babies with lower level of VD. Conclusion: This study showed that the prevalence of VDD in pregnancy is astonishingly high till now there is no guideline to screen antenatal women for VDD. As the test is costly even, offering it to all at-risk women may not be cost effective compared with offering universal supplementation, particularly as treatment is regarded as being very safe

Fluoride Anticoagulant Vials are Ideal for HbA1c Estimation in India

In developing country like India fasting (FBS) and post prandial blood sugar (PPBS) has always been used for diagnosing diabetes. HbA1c is seldom used for diagnosis. Almost all HbA1c test accompanies blood sugar tests, and only in 4.56% HbA1c is done alone. In this case two samples need to be collected one in Na‑fluoride/Na2 EDTA vials for blood sugar estimation and another in EDTA vial for HbA1c. We suggest through our study that the same Na‑fluoride/Na2 EDTA vials can be used for both the tests, without any change in test quality and results. This will reduce patients inconveniences and will also reduce the cost of HbA1c tests to a certain extent. [Med-Science 2015; 4(4.000): 2975-7