FIXED POINT RESULTS FOR (α − β)-ADMISSIBLE ALMOST z-CONTRACTIONS IN METRIC-LIKE SPACE VIA SIMULATION FUNCTION

In this paper, we establish the existence and uniqueness of a fixed point of (α, β)-admissible almost z-contractions via simulation functions in metric-like spaces. Our results generalize and unify several fixed point theorem in literature

RECURRENT PREGNANCY LOSS AND ASSOCIATION OF MTHFR, PAI-1 AND ACE GENE POLYMORPHISMS IN WOMEN

Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) is a significant clinical problem that may occur before the 20th week of gestation. There is no general consensus on how many consecutive abortions are considered as RPL. The goal of this study is to investigate the correlation between recurrent miscarriage (RM) and common polymorphisms in angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1) and Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (MTHFR) genes among women experiencing RM. The literature existing in different population was searched and based on these finding we conclude that polymorphism in either one of these genes may increase chances of miscarriage. KEYWORDS: Polymorphism; Recurrent pregnancy; Plasminogen activator inhibitor 1

RECURRENT PREGNANCY LOSS AND ASSOCIATION OF MTHFR, PAI-1 AND ACE GENE POLYMORPHISMS IN WOMEN

Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) is a significant clinical problem that may occur before the 20th week of gestation. There is no general consensus on how many consecutive abortions are considered as RPL. The goal of this study is to investigate the correlation between recurrent miscarriage (RM) and common polymorphisms in angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1) and Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (MTHFR) genes among women experiencing RM. The literature existing in different population was searched and based on these finding we conclude that polymorphism in either one of these genes may increase chances of miscarriage. KEYWORDS: Polymorphism; Recurrent pregnancy; Plasminogen activator inhibitor 1

Pediatric Index of Mortality and PIM2 Scores Have Good Calibration in a Large Cohort of Children from a Developing Country

Objective. Our objective was to validate the Pediatric Index of Mortality (PIM) and PIM2 scores in a large cohort of children from a developing country. Design. Prospective observational study. Setting. Pediatric intensive care unit of a tertiary care teaching hospital. Patients. All children aged <18 years admitted between June 2011 and July 2013. Measurements and Main Results. We evaluated the discriminative ability and calibration as measured by the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, the HosmerLemeshow goodness-of-fit (GOF), and standardized mortality ratio (SMR), respectively. Of the 819 children enrolled, 232 (28%) died. The median (IQR) age of the study subjects was 4 years (0.8, 10). The major reasons for ICU admission as well as mortality were sepsis/severe sepsis. The area under ROC curves for PIM and PIM2 was 0.72 (95% CI: 0.67-0.75) and 0.74 (95% CI: 0.70-0.78), respectively. The goodness-of-fit test showed a good calibration across deciles of risk for the two scores with values being >0.05. The SMR (95% CI) was 0.99 (0.85-1.15) and 1 (0.85-1.16) for PIM and PIM2, respectively. The calibration across different age and diagnostic subgroups was also good. Conclusion. PIM and PIM2 scores had good calibration in our setup

Thickness dependence of the magnetic hysteresis of NiFe-31% films as a function of an applied isotropic in-plane stress

The magnetic hysteresis of dc magnetron-sputtered Ni69Fe31 films that were sandwiched between titanium layers was investigated as a function of an externally applied isotropic in-plane strain. The hysteresis curves were measured with a Kerr magnetometer that monitored the longitudinal Kerr ellipticity as a function of the in-plane magnetic field. The strain was created by bending the samples in two dimensions using a pressure cell. Measurements were performed on films with different thicknesses. The magnetoelastic properties appeared to be much smaller for films with a thickness of 100 nm than for films with a thickness of 288 or 500 nm. This might be due to a change of the domain wall pinning, or a change of the domain wall density as a function of the film thickness. Measurements under compressive isotropic in-plane stress were shown to be possible by flipping the sample in the pressure holder and measuring through the glass substrate. The Faraday effect and stress-induced birefringence in the glass substrate did not hinder the accumulation of noiseless hysteresis data. The magnetoelastic effects appeared to be different for positive and negative values of the applied stress

Medium optimization for the production of lipstatin by Streptomyces toxytricini using full factorial design of experiment

Abstract: Full factorial design of experiment for medium optimization was employed for lipstatin production by Streptomyces toxytricini in shake flask study. The full factorial DOE was very much effective in screening of nutritional parameters within the stipulated time frame in a limited number of experiments. A maximum lipstatin production was achieved 3.290 g/l with the following optimized factors: soya flour 35g/l and soya oil 25g/l. Validation experiments were also carried out to verify the adequacy and the accuracy of the model. The results also give a scope for large scale fermentation of lipstatin production. [Luthra, U., Kumar, H., Kulshreshtha, N., Tripathi, A., Trivedi, A., Khadpekar, S., Chaturvedi, A. and Dubey, R.C. Medium optimization for the production of lipstatin by Streptomyces toxytricini using full factorial design of experiment. Nat Sci 2013;1

Effect of water stress on carbon isotope discrimination and its relationship with transpiration efficiency and specific leaf area in Cenchrus species

Abstract: Carbon isotope discrimination (CID) has been proposed in estimating transpiration efficiency (TE) in plants indirectly. To identify variations for TE and specific leaf area (SLA) and their association with CID, a glasshouse experiment was conducted using six prominent species of Cenchrus. A significant increase in TE (3.50 to 3.87 g kg -1 ) and decrease in SLA (219.50 to 207.99 cm 2 g -1 ) and CID (13.72 to 13.23 ‰ ) was observed from well watered to stress condition. Results indicated a direct relationship of SLA with CID (r = 0.511 * and 0.544 * ) and inverse relationship between TE and CID (r =-0.229 and -0.270) However, the relationship of TE with CID was insignificant. A positive and significant relationship was visualized between TE and dry matter production in both control (r = 0.917 ** ) and stress (0.718 ** ) treatments. Relationships of total dry matter with SLA and CID were monitored insignificant and negative in control and positive in stress treatment indicated difference in dry matter production under two treatments. It seems that, in Cenchrus species, CID was influenced more by the photosynthetic capacity than by stomatal conductance, as indicated by its positive relationship with SLA in both control (r = 0.511 * ) and stress (r = 0.544 * ) conditions and negative relationship with root dry matter production under control (r = -0.921 *** ) and stress (r = -0.919 *** ) condition. Results showed good correspondence between CID and SLA, indicating that lines having high TE and biomass production can be exploited for their genetic improvement for drought

Development and In-Vitro Evaluation of Plantago ovata Based Rapid Disintegrating Tablets of Labetalol Hydrochloride

Objectives: To avoid swallowing problems of conventional tablets and improved patient compliance Plantago Ovata based Labetalol HCl Rapid disintegrating tablets have been prepared. Methods: Six different (F1 to F6) batches of Labetalol HCl Rapid disintegrating tablets were developed by ‘direct compression method’ using Plantago ovata as a natural super-disintegrating agent. The formulated RDT were tested for angle of repose’, densities like tapped and bulk density, Hausner’s ratio, Carr’s index like pre-compression parameters and for thickness, weight variation or weight uniformity, tablet hardness, % drug content or content uniformity, water absorption ratio’, time require for wetting of tablets’ means wetting time, in-vitro drug disintegration time and in-vitro drug dissolution studies under post-compression parameters of evaluation. Results: It was found that the all the results of these pre-compression and post-compression parameters comply with official standards. The drug release was determined using dissolution media of pH 6.8 phosphate buffer through in-vitro dissolution of drug. This study showed that a rapid drug release by prepared tablets. The optimized formulation F6 showed higher water absorption ratio`, lower wetting time, minimum in-vitro disintegration time’ and higher drug release amongst all the formulations. The F6 formulation was considered the best among all formulations. Conclusion: The prepared rapid disintegrating tablets shows rapid onset of action by quick drug release, minimize side effects and enhanced patient compliance. These prepared tablets containing selective alpha-1 and non-selective beta adrenergic antagonist’ drug candidate Labetalol HCl, will be very useful in the treatment of high blood pressure with enhanced bioavailability. Keywords: Rapid disintegrating tablets, Labetalol Hydrochloride, Bioavailability Enhancement, Natural Superdisintegrant, Plantago Ovata, High Blood Pressure, RDT, Patient Complianc

First-Principles Electronic Structure Study Of Rhizoferrin And Its Fe(Iii) Complexes

We have determined the structure and coordination chemistry of rhizoferrin (Rf), which is a particular type of siderophore, and its Fe(III) complexes using density functional theory calculations. Our results show that the Fe(III) ion binds in an octahedral coordination, with a low-spin (S = 1/2) charge-neutral chiral complex having the largest binding energy of the investigated complexes. We have also calculated nuclear magnetic resonance parameters, such as chemical shifts for 1H and 13C, and indirect nuclear spin-spin couplings for 1H-1H and 13C-1H in free Rf and in a low-spin neutral Rf metal complex, as well as nuclear quadrupole interaction parameters, such as asymmetry parameter and nuclear quadrupole coupling constants for 14N. Our calculated values for the chemical shifts for free Rf are in excellent agreement with experimental data while the calculated NMR parameters for Fe(III) complexes are predictions for future experimental work. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York