Macro and microscopic characters of Maerua oblongifolia (Forssk.) A. Rich leaf

The paper deals with a detailed investigation on the leaves of Maerua oblongifolia (Forssk.) A. Rich. which includes it’s morphological, anatomical and powder analysis. It is a low woody bushy under-shrub belonging to the family Capparaceae. The leaves are used in treatment of as fever, ear ache, stomach ache, skin infections, urinary calculii, diabetes mellitus, epilepsy, rigidity in lower limbs, and abdominal colic. The leaf amphistomatic, with mostly anamocytic, few tetracytic stomata. In transverse section of leaf is ribbed on either sides at midvein, epidermis one layered. Mesophyll differentiated into palisade and spongy tissues. Ground tissue of midvein differentiated into palisade, collenchyma and parenchyma. The midvien consists of one large oval shaped vascular bundles arranged are at the centre. Petiole in transverse section is circular adaxially small, grooved at centre and epidermis is having one layered, a single circular vascular bundle present at the centre, vascular bundle is enclosed by endodermis. The powder microscopic and organoleptic characters are also presented in this study. This study would helps as an appropriate source for authentification of the present studied drug. &nbsp

THERMO GRAVIMETRY-DIFFERENTIAL SCANNING COLORIMETRY-MASS SPECTROSCOPY-A REVIEW

Thermogravimetric analysis is an analytical technique used to determine a material's thermal stability and its fraction of volatile components by monitoring the weight change that occurs as a sample is heated at a constant rate. Differential scanning colorimetry analysis is used to measure melting temperature, the heat of fusion, latent heat of melting, reaction energy etc. Mass spectroscopy is a powerful analytical tool with many applications in pharmaceuticals and biomedical fields. The increase in sensitivity and resolution of the instrument as opened new dimensions in analysis of pharmaceuticals and complex metabolites of biological systems. Thermo gravimetry coupled with differential scanning colorimetry and Quadra pole mass spectrometry was applied to monitor the thermal stability and chemical properties of natural polymers isolated from chemically different soils. The TGA/DSC, when coupled with MS generic multiple ions from the sample under investigation, it then separates them according to a specific mass-to-charge ratio. The coupled instrument is used for simultaneous identification of organic compounds, used to evaluate the physical properties, degradation stability of powder coating

Ayurvedic management of Diabetic Foot Ulcer - A Case Study

There are 424.9 million adults estimated to currently have diabetes globally.[1] Diabetic patients have an inherent risk of foot problems. Globally every 30 seconds, a major amputation occurs; 85% of which are preceded by trivial foot lesions.[2] In Ayurvedic literature, it is explained that Pidakas are formed in Adhoshaka in patients with Prameha due to the weakness of Rasayanis of lower limbs.[3] Such Pidakas if neglected over a period of time, without treatment will undergo Paaka and form a Vrana. Acharya Sushruta has described Shashti Upakramas (60 modalities) for the successful management of Vranas. Among them this article highlights the use of Shodhana, Kshara Varma, Chedana, Ropana and Bandhana Upakramas in the management of Diabetic Foot Ulcer/ Madhumehajanya Dushtavrana and also the need of Shastrakarma (surgical intervention) at the right time. In this study, Triphala Kashaya Avagaha and Pratisaraneeya kshara Karma for Vranashodhana, Chedana Karma followed by Ropana with Jatyaditaila was carried out. The course of treatment carried out brought about Dushtavranaavastha to Shuddhavranaavastha

A randomized controlled trial of sublingual Misoprostol - 600µg versus intravenous Oxytocin - 10IU in prevention of post partum hemorrhage during cesarean section

Background: Mortality related to pregnancy and childbirth causes half a million women around the world to die annually. About 35% of these deaths are from postpartum hemorrhage (PPH). Prevention of PPH has been advised by the WHO by the use of Oxytocin 10 IU IM or IV and Misoprostol 600 µg in low resource settings in vaginal delivery. However there have been only a few reports on the use of Misoprostol during cesarean section. The best route and dose of Misoprostol is still being debated.Methods: One hundred women with term singleton pregnancy undergoing elective or emergency cesarean section under spinal anesthesia were randomly allocated to receive either Misoprostol 600µg sublingually or intravenous oxytocin 10 IU soon after delivery of the baby. Estimated blood loss and comparative change in preoperative hemoglobin to post operative hemoglobin levels and side effects were evaluated.Results: Blood loss was found to be more in Misoprostol than Oxytocin. Eight patients of the Misoprostol group required additional oxytocics. Oxytocin group did not receive any additional drugs. No surgical intervention was made in either of the groups.  The most common side effect with Misoprostol was shivering (46%) and in Oxytocin group fever (4%).Conclusions: Sublingual Misoprostol of 600µg works to prevent postpartum bleeding. In our study Oxytocin was more effective than Misoprostol in preventing PPH during cesarean section. Late onset of action of Misoprostol in comparison to Oxytocin may render suturing of the uterus difficult due to pooling of blood. In settings in which use of Oxytocin is not feasible, Misoprostol might be a suitable alternative for post-partum hemorrhage

Two-photon absorption in ZnSe and ZnSe/ZnS core/shell quantum structures

The third order nonlinear optical properties of two different sized ZnSe and ZnSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) are investigated. The nonlinear absorption is measured at 806 nm using Ti:sapphire 100 fs laser pulses in an open aperture Z-scan setup. Two-photon absorption (2PA) is found to be dominant in core and core shell QDs. 2PA cross section is enhanced by three orders of magnitude compared bulk ZnSe. 2PA cross section is observed to increase with reduction in QD diameter, due to strong confinement effect. ZnSe/ZnS QDs exhibit higher 2PA cross section compared with corresponding ZnSe QDs, indicating better passivation of the QD surface

Synthesis, Spectral Characterization and Antimicrobial Studies of Co(II) Complexes with Tetradentate Schiff bases Derived from Ortho-Phthalaldehyde

A series of cobalt (II) complexes have been synthesized with Schiff bases derived from ortho-phthalaldehyde and various amines in aqueous methanol solution. The newly synthesized Schiff bases and their Co (II) complexes have been characterized  by elemental analysis, magnetic susceptibility, thermal, conductance measurements, mass, IR, electronic, 1H,13C-NMR spectral techniques. These ligands act as tetradentate species and coordinate to the metal center through the different potential donor atoms such as N, O and S. The probable octahedral structures have been assigned to these complexes. All the synthesized Schiff base ligands and Co(II) metal complexes have also been screened for their antimicrobial activities and metal complexes found to be more active than respective Schiff-base ligands

Two photon absorption in Mn<SUP>2+</SUP>-doped ZnSe quantum dots

The nonresonant third order nonlinear optical properties of three different sized Mn2+-doped ZnSe quantum dots (QDs) are investigated. The nonlinear absorption is measured at 532 nm using 35 picosecond laser pulses in an open-aperture Z-scan setup. Two photon absorption (2PA) cross-section in ZnSe QDs is found to be three orders of magnitude higher than its bulk value. These nanostructures show size dependent nonlinear absorption coefficients. It is found that the 2PA further enhances with decrease in size of the QD and is twice that of its undoped counterpart due to change in the local electric field

GC-MS phytochemical profiling of leaf extracts of Aristolochia tagala Cham., a rare and important ethnomedicinal plant

145-152The current study was aimed at obtaining the phytochemical profile of leaf extracts of Aristolochia tagala Cham., a rare ethnomedicinal plant by GC-MS analysis. The chromatograms of GC-MS analysis of methanol, chloroform, and petroleum ether extracts of leaf showed 39, 37, and 30 peaks respectively. The mass of compounds and fragments recorded were matched with NIST 11 and Wiley 8 libraries for the identification of probable compounds which accounted for a total of 71 different phytochemical compounds present in the tested sample. Some compounds appeared in all the solvent extracts but others were unique to specific solvent extract. Out of 71 recorded compounds, 14 were sesquiterpenes, 10 compounds could be categorized as other terpenoids or compounds containing isoprene units, 4 as steroids, 4 as other aromatic hydrocarbon compounds, fatty acids and their esters accounted for 18 compounds and remaining 21 compounds were other hydrocarbons. Most of these compounds are recorded for the first time in this species. This valuable data can be further employed to know the phytocompounds available in large quantities in this plant which has therapeutic properties that can form the basis for pharmaceutical research to develop drugs for efficient disease control

GC-MS phytochemical profiling of leaf extracts of Aristolochia tagala Cham., a rare and important ethnomedicinal plant

The current study was aimed at obtaining the phytochemical profile of leaf extracts of Aristolochia tagala Cham., a rare ethnomedicinal plant by GC-MS analysis. The chromatograms of GC-MS analysis of methanol, chloroform, and petroleum ether extracts of leaf showed 39, 37, and 30 peaks respectively. The mass of compounds and fragments recorded were matched with NIST 11 and Wiley 8 libraries for the identification of probable compounds which accounted for a total of 71 different phytochemical compounds present in the tested sample. Some compounds appeared in all the solvent extracts but others were unique to specific solvent extract. Out of 71 recorded compounds, 14 were sesquiterpenes, 10 compounds could be categorized as other terpenoids or compounds containing isoprene units, 4 as steroids, 4 as other aromatic hydrocarbon compounds, fatty acids and their esters accounted for 18 compounds and remaining 21 compounds were other hydrocarbons. Most of these compounds are recorded for the first time in this species. This valuable data can be further employed to know the phytocompounds available in large quantities in this plant which has therapeutic properties that can form the basis for pharmaceutical research to develop drugs for efficient disease control

Identity Based Strong Designated Verifier Signature Scheme

Identity based cryptosystem simplifies the key management and revocation problem. Here we propose an Identity Based Strong Designated Verifier Signature (IBSDVS) scheme using bilinear pairings. The Designated Verifier Signature scheme described in [10] is identity based but it suffers from the deligatability as pointed out in [4]. We analyse the security of the scheme and show that the problem of delegatability does not exist in our scheme