Selective hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde to hydrocinnamaldehyde over nickel-carbon composite catalyst

231-236Methane is decomposed to carbon and hydrogen over Raney nickel catalyst in controlled manner in order to deposit carbon; and thereby NiC composite catalysts have been prepared. The catalysts have been analyzed by atomic emission spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The NiC catalysts are comprised of metallic nickel with superficial oxide and carbon. Electron density of Ni in the NiC catalysts is observed to be higher than that in the parent Raney nickel; this indicate partial charge transfer from carbon to nickel in the NiC catalysts. The NiC catalysts exhibite much better performance than the original Raney nickel catalyst in the selective hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde to hydrocinnamaldehyde. They also exhibite stable performance in multiple reaction runs

Animal welfare in studies on murine tuberculosis : assessing progress over a 12-year period and the need for further improvement

There is growing concern over the welfare of animals used in research, in particular when these animals develop pathology. The present study aims to identify the main sources of animal distress and to assess the possible implementation of refinement measures in experimental infection research, using mouse models of tuberculosis (TB) as a case study. This choice is based on the historical relevance of mouse studies in understanding the disease and the present and long-standing impact of TB on a global scale. Literature published between 1997 and 2009 was analysed, focusing on the welfare impact on the animals used and the implementation of refinement measures to reduce this impact. In this 12-year period, we observed a rise in reports of ethical approval of experiments. The proportion of studies classified into the most severe category did however not change significantly over the studied period. Information on important research parameters, such as method for euthanasia or sex of the animals, were absent in a substantial number of papers. Overall, this study shows that progress has been made in the application of humane endpoints in TB research, but that a considerable potential for improvement remains.Nuno H. Franco is funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (SFRH/BD/38337/2007). This work is funded by FEDER funds through the Operational Competitiveness Programme - COMPETE and by national funds through FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia under the project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-022718 (PEst-C/SAU/LA0002/2011

Quantifying primaquine effectiveness and improving adherence: a round table discussion of the APMEN Vivax Working Group.

The goal to eliminate malaria from the Asia-Pacific by 2030 will require the safe and widespread delivery of effective radical cure of malaria. In October 2017, the Asia Pacific Malaria Elimination Network Vivax Working Group met to discuss the impediments to primaquine (PQ) radical cure, how these can be overcome and the methodological difficulties in assessing clinical effectiveness of radical cure. The salient discussions of this meeting which involved 110 representatives from 18 partner countries and 21 institutional partner organizations are reported. Context specific strategies to improve adherence are needed to increase understanding and awareness of PQ within affected communities; these must include education and health promotion programs. Lessons learned from other disease programs highlight that a package of approaches has the greatest potential to change patient and prescriber habits, however optimizing the components of this approach and quantifying their effectiveness is challenging. In a trial setting, the reactivity of participants results in patients altering their behaviour and creates inherent bias. Although bias can be reduced by integrating data collection into the routine health care and surveillance systems, this comes at a cost of decreasing the detection of clinical outcomes. Measuring adherence and the factors that relate to it, also requires an in-depth understanding of the context and the underlying sociocultural logic that supports it. Reaching the elimination goal will require innovative approaches to improve radical cure for vivax malaria, as well as the methods to evaluate its effectiveness

Report on the treatment of dysmenorrhoea by the tribes of Nalbari district, Assam

72-74The paper describes the use of Jatropha curcus Linn. collected through personal interview with local herbal practitioner for the treatment of dysmenorrhoea by the Koch-Rajbongshi tribe in Nalbari district of Assam. Botanical description of the plant, local name and method of administration have been described