PREPARATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF NITRENDIPINE LOADED GRAFTED COPOLYMER MICROSPHERES: A PRELIMINARY STUDY

Objectives: Developing countries like India suffers mostly from cardiovascular problems and kidney failure. An antihypertensive drug is mainly used to avoid the cardiovascular problems and kidney failure. Nitrendipine is a calcium antagonist widely used in the treatment of hypertension. The bioavailability of drug, when administered orally, is low. Sustained drug delivery systems are using microspheres emerging as an effective method to increase the bioavailability of the drug. The current work involves the encapsulation of nitrendipine - acrylamide grafted chitosan which helps to overcome poor solubility and hydrophobic nature of the nitrendipine. This will enhance the drug dissolution and reduce the side effects of the antihypertensive drug.Methods: By emulsion cross-linking method, grafted copolymers were prepared. The physicochemical interactions between the drug and grafted copolymer were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).Results: Encapsulated drug and grafted copolymer were characterized by FTIR to understand the chemical interactions and to identify the functional groups present. Morphology and particle size of the grafted copolymer with drug and without drug were assessed by SEM. DSC was used to identify the melting endotherms of a drug, copolymer cross-linked microspheres, and drug encapsulated microspheres.Conclusion: Thus, the drug encapsulated grafted copolymer increases the hydrophilic character and thereby making the polymers feasible for functioning as drug carriers for sustained drug delivery system

Non-Axisymmetric Matrix Cracking and Interface Debonding with Friction in Ceramic Composites

An three-dimensional analytical model based on the principle of minimum potential energy is developed and applied to determine the stress state in a discrete fiber/matrix composite cylinder subjected to axial tensile loading in the fiber direction and containing a non-symmetric transverse matrix crack and an interface debond. The friction over the debonded interface is incorporated into the analysis. The strain energy release rates associated with the matrix crack and the interface debonding under the combination of the applied load and the interface frictional force are computed. The strain energy release rate criterion has been employed to evaluate the critical applied loads for the two fracture modes and to assess the competition between propagation of a matrix crack and growth of interface debonding. A parametric study has been carried out. The computed results show that the interface friction plays a very important role in the failure of brittle matrix composites

Complementary and alternative medicine: practice and perspective of allopathic doctors at a tertiary care hospital

Background: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has been defined as a group of diverse healthcare systems, not considered to be a part of conventional (allopathic) medicine. Approximately 80% of general population use traditional medicines (WHO). Thus, patients using CAM and its associated adverse effects may be encountered in practice of modern medicine. Hence it is necessary to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of CAM among health care professionals (HCPs).Methods: After obtaining IEC approval, the cross-sectional study was conducted in doctors at Bangalore Medical College and its attached hospitals. 200 doctors who gave informed consent were included in the study.Results: 61.5% of the HCPs were aware that CAM includes AYUSH. 53% of the HCPs used CAM for self, especially for respiratory disorders (28.3%) and chronic painful conditions (21.6%). The common adverse effects attributed to use of CAM among patients which required consultation of the HCPs were hepatic (42.5%) and renal impairment (32.5%), allergy (10%), relapse (10%), and metal intoxication (5%). 71% didn’t prefer suggesting CAM for patients. 70% opined that CAM therapies be subjected to clinical trials.Conclusions: HCPs had used CAM therapy for self at least once especially for respiratory disorders and chronic painful conditions. However majority of the HCPs didn’t prefer suggesting CAM to patients and as many as 70% of the HCPs  insisted that CAM therapies be subjected to scientific evaluation including clinical trials in view of patient safety before integrating them with conventional medicine

A Comparative Study to Assess the Efficacy of Magnesium Sulphate on the Attenuation of Hemodynamic Response to Pneumoperitoneum during Laparoscopic Surgeries: A Study of 60 Cases

BACKGROUND: Magnesium is a well known inhibitor of catecholamine release. This study investigates whether i.v., magnesium sulphate attenuates the hemodynamic response to pneumoperitoneum during laparoscopic surgeries by changing the neurohumoral responses. METHODS: In a randomised, double blind control study, 60 patients of both sexes were chosen. 30 patients in the study group received i.v., magnesium sulphate 50 mg/kg, 1 minute before pneumoperitoneum and 30 patients in the control group received normal saline. Perioperative anaesthetic care was standardised in all patients. Intraoperative heart rate and blood pressure was monitored. RESULTS: Systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate was significantly higher in the control group when compared to the study group. CONCLUSION: Intravenous magnesium sulphate attenuates the arterial pressure increase during laparoscopic surgeries

PROBIOTIC Rhodotorula mucilaginosa ISOLATED FROM FERMENTED FOOD: INVESTIGATION OF PUFA PRODUCTION AND STRATEGY FOR HEALTH IMPROVEMENT

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are a vital component for human health. PUFA cannot be synthesized by human system and hence dependance on other sources has become inevitable. Though porcine liver and fish oil were the dependable sources for ages past, yet cheaper microbial source was sought after and have gained importance as well. Such microbial oils normally used as biofuels can also be used for several therapeutic purposes. Hence, this study was designed to evaluate the quality and quantity of lipids produced by a probiotic yeast, Rhodotorula mucilaginosa. The lipid production potential of Rhodotorula mucilaginosa has indeed attracted a lot of attention. Isolation and characterization of the probiotic yeast with enhanced lipid production and determining the lipid components have become the aim of the work

STUDY ON THE CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS OF THE ESSENTIAL OIL FROM NYCTANTHES ARBOR-TRISTIS AND ITS MOLECULAR DOCKING STUDIES

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to determine the chemical composition of the essential oil obtained from the flowers of Nyctanthes arbor-tristis (NAT) and to carryout molecular docking studies against three bacterial proteins to study the mechanism of the antibacterial activity. Methods: The essential oil was obtained from the flowers of NAT by hydrodistillation and the chemical composition was determined by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis. Docking study was carried out for 14 compounds identified from NAT against three bacterial proteins 1UAG, 3TYE, and 3UDI. Results: Fourteen compounds were identified in the essential oil. 1-octanol (74.81%) is the predominant compound followed by phytol (6.80%), bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (5.88%), and eucarvone (4.23%). Many compounds are similar to that of the essential oil from jasmine. Among the 14 compounds identified, 7,9-di-tert-butyl-1-oxaspiro (4,5) deca-6,9-diene-2,8-dione interacted well with 1UAG and 3TYE and showed binding scores of −8.9 and −7.2 K Cal/mol, respectively, involving hydrophilic and hydrophobic interactions. With the protein 3UDI, the compound eucarvone exhibited a binding score of −7.1 K Cal/mol. Conclusion: The similarities between the essential oil constituents of flowers the two plants NAT and jasmine. Therefore, it could be concluded that NAT flowers of Coimbatore are a good source of fragrance for cosmetic industry and as an antibacterial agent

COMPOSITION OF THE ESSENTIAL OIL FROM MIMOSA PUDICA LINN.

Objectives: To determine the composition of the essential oil obtained from Mimosa pudica L. (Mimosaceae) Methods: The essential oil   of M. pudica was obtained by hydro distillation using a Clevenger apparatus and the chemical composition was determined by GC-MS analysis. Results: About 23 compounds were identified from the essential oil which constitutes about 98.92 % of the oil. Among the compounds identified phthalic acid dioctyl ester (27.76 %), α-Linolenic acid (20.34 %), Cinnamaldehyde (16.24 %) are the major compounds.  α-Linolenic acid is an n-3 fatty acid. Conclusion: α-Linolenic acid is one of the essential fatty acids, which is necessary for health and cannot be produced within the human body. Mimosa pudica L. (Mimosaceae) appears to be a promising herb to undergo a wide exploratio

Energetic neutron identification with pulse shape discrimination in pure CsI crystals

Pulse shape discrimination with pure CsI scintillators is investigated as a method for separating energy deposits by energetic neutrons and photons at particle physics experiments. Using neutron data collected near the European XFEL XS1 beam window the pulse shape discrimination capabilities of pure CsI are studied and compared to CsI(Tl) using near-identical detector setups, which were operated in parallel. The inelastic interactions of 100 MeV neutrons are observed to produce a slower scintillation emission in pure CsI relative to energy deposits from cosmic muons. By employing a charge-ratio method for pulse shape characterization, pulse shape discrimination with pure CsI is shown to be effective for identifying energy deposits from neutrons vs. cosmic muons, however, pure CsI was not able resolve the specific type of neutron inelastic interactions as can be done with CsI(Tl). Using pulse shape discrimination, the rate of energetic neutron interactions in a pure CsI detector is measured as a function of time and shown to be correlated with the European XFEL beam power. The results demonstrate that pulse shape discrimination with pure CsI has significant potential to improve electromagnetic vs. hadronic shower identification at future particle physics experiments

Analysis of Damage in Laminated Architectural Glazing Subjected to Wind Loading and Windborne Debris Impact

Wind loading and windborne debris (missile) impact are the two primary mechanisms that result in window glazing damage during hurricanes. Wind-borne debris is categorized into two types: small hard missiles such as roof gravel, and large soft missiles representing lumber from wood-framed buildings. Laminated architectural glazing (LAG) may be used in buildings where impact resistance is needed. The glass plies in LAG undergo internal damage before total failure. The bulk of the published work on this topic either deals with the stress and dynamic analyses of undamaged LAG or the total failure of LAG. The pre-failure damage response of LAG due to the combination of wind loading and windborne debris impact is studied. A continuum damage mechanics (CDM) based constitutive model is developed and implemented via an axisymmetric finite element code to study the failure and damage behavior of laminated architectural glazing subjected to combined loading of wind and windborne debris impact. The effect of geometric and material properties on the damage pattern is studied parametrically

Medicine Research in India: A Scientometric Assessment of Publications during 2009 – 2018

The purpose of this paper is to qualitative analyse of medicine research output using select scientometric indicators with the aim of identifying top preparing countries, subject subthemes, organisations, authors and journals in the area. The present study has examined 29153 publications in medicine research, the present study deals with the Assessment of Indian medicine research output as reflected in Web of Science (WOS) database for the period 2009 to 2018 for identifying the research output in the field of medicine literature. It also provides a comparative evaluation and performance of different types of scientometric indicators, such as number of publications, number of citations, relative growth, doubling time, activity index and collaboration from India. The Indian medicine research has increased exponentially over the last decade