PHYTOCHEMICAL STUDIES OF ENDOLICHENIC FUNGI ISOLATED FROM HYPOTRACHYNA INFIRMA (KUROK.) HALE

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate of phytopharmaceutical importance of endolichenic fungi isolated from Hypotrachyna infirma (Kurok.) Hale. Methods: The lichen species were collected from Sholaiyar hills, Coimbatore and identified as Hypotrachyna infirma (Kurok.)Hale. From this lichen, 29 endolichenic fungi were isolated and 13 endolichenic fungi were identified. From the identified endolichenic fungi, 26 extracts were prepared by successive solvent extraction methods using Ethyl acetate and chloroform. Results: The phytochemical study revealed the presence of important constituents like Alkaloids, Tannins, Carbohydrates, Phenols, Protein, Terpenoids, Steroids, Glycosides Flavonoids and Saponins. From the 13 endolichenic fungi, only 5 endolichenic fungi (Nigrospora oryzae (Berkand Broome)Petch, Geotrichum candidum Link, Scytalidium lignicola pesante, Aspergillus oryzae(Ahlb.) cohn, Aspergillus niger Gr.) have more constitutents. These 5 endolichenic fungi have good results in Quantitative analysis also. Conclusion: Compared to ethyl acetate extracts Chloroform extracts showed very less concentration of the phytochemicals. From this study we conclutated Nigrospora oryzae (Berk and Broome) Petch gave the best results in both qualitative and quantitative compared to other endolichenic fungi

Perancangan Ilustrasi Penyimpangan UN SMA melalui Film Pendek

Ujian Nasional SMA sebagai syarat kelulusan merupakan sebuah permasalahan yang kontroversial di dunia pendidikan Indonesia. Dengan waktu seminggu ujian yang menentukan kelulusan, membuat para siswa SMA, orang tua, bahkan guru menjadi kalang kabut. Kecurangan pun bermunculan dan menjadi hal yang sangat lumrah. Hampir seluruh warga Indonesia mengakui adanya kecurangan ujian nasional, tetapi kebanyakan mereka menutup mulut dan tidak peduli karena merasa ujian nasional yang tidak penting. Oleh karena penulis, berusaha mengangkat kecurangan ini ke permukaan agar bisa di jadikan instropeksi terhadap ujian nasional. Sebuah pesan ini penulis wujudkan dalam bentuk film pendek agar menarik dan dapat dengan mudah menjadi renungan untuk masyarakat Indonesi

EVALUATION OF ANTIBACTERIAL, ANTIMICROBIAL, AND HYPOGLYCEMIC EFFECTS OF THE LEAVES OF EMBELIA RIBES

Objective: The purpose of this work is to evaluate the antimicrobial, antibacterial, and hypoglycemic effects of methanolic and ethanolic extracts of Embelia ribes leaves using in vitro studies.Methods: Antibacterial activities of the methanolic and ethanolic extract of E. ribes leaves against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococci, and Klebsiella pneumoniae at different concentrations ranging from 10, 25, 50, and 75 μg/mL and their antibacterial activities were compared to those of the reference controls such as ciprofloxacin and clindamycin. Furthermore, the effect of leaf extracts on α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes was assayed.Results: The methanolic and ethanolic extract of E. ribes leaves effectively inhibited the activity of α-amylase and α-glucosidase in a dose-dependent manner. The effect of the methanolic extract was more prominent than that of ethanolic extract. At the same time, both the extracts showed markable inhibition of bacterial growth at a concentration of 75 μg/mL compared to the other three doses (10, 25, and 50 μg/ml) and also commercially available antibiotic drugs ciprofloxacin and clindamycin that were used as positive control drugs. The antibacterial activity of methanolic extract is significantly higher than that of ethanolic extract.Conclusion: The preliminary results of this study have put forward E. ribes into promising herb with respect to its therapeutic potential although further studies are needed to evaluate its mechanism of action

Removal of Cefdinir from Aqueous Solution Using Nanostructure Adsorbents of TiO2, SiO2 and TiO2/SiO2: Equilibrium, Thermodynamic and Kinetic Studies

The adsorptive removal of cefdinir, an antibiotic, from aqueous solutions on TiO2, SiO2 and TiO2/SiO2 nanostructures was studied by batch experiments. The SiO2 particles were obtained from rice husk ash. Investigated were the effects of the solution pH, adsorbent dosage, initial adsorbate concentration, and solution temperature on both cefdinir uptake and removal. The studies suggest that the adsorption of cefdinir on the nanostructures was mainly due to the electrostatic interaction between the ionic adsorbate molecules and charged adsorbent surface sites. The adsorption isotherm data of TiO2 and SiO2 fit well to the Langmuir isotherm model and the Freundlich model for TiO2/SiO2. The thermodynamic studies indicated favorable and spontaneous occurrence of adsorption. The kinetic data of TiO2 fitted best with PSO reaction model equation, and was described well by Weber-Morris diffusion model with dominating control mechanism of intraparticle diffusion and limited contribution of internal film diffusion. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

A Comparative Study of Lipid Profile among Smokers and Non-Smokers

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: A prospective study was carried out to find the variations in lipid profile in smokers when compared to non-smokers. To study the alterations in lipid profile in terms of severity of smoking. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was carried out among 200 patients who attended Government Rajaji Hospital, Madurai for various ailments. The population was divided into 100 non-smokers and 100 smokers. The smokers were further divided into three groups depending on the intensity of smoking. Serum lipid profile was analyzed in all subjects. RESULTS: Lipid Profile - TC : Non-Smokers (Mean ± Std) 161.18±26.77, Smokers (Mean ± Std) 191.96±31.37, P-Value < 0.001. Lipid Profile - TG : Non-Smokers (Mean ± Std) 103.58±26.26, Smokers (Mean ± Std) 164.29±28.95 P-Value < 0.001. Lipid Profile - HDL : Non-Smokers (Mean ± Std) 49.58±8.57, Smokers (Mean ± Std) 44.72±9.96, P-Value = 0.002. Lipid Profile - LDL : Non-Smokers (Mean ± Std) 82.34±16.57, Smokers (Mean ± Std 103.08±18.66 < 0.001. Lipid Profile - VLDL : Non-Smokers (Mean ± Std) - 21.69±6.42, Smokers (Mean ± Std) - 29.02±8.98 P-Value < 0.001. Dyslipidemia was directly proportional to intensity of smoking. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSION: Increase in total Cholesterol, Triglycerides, LDL & VLDL were found in smokers of all age groups. Whereas HDL values showed inverse relationship. These changes were directly proportional to the severity of smoking. So, Tobacco smoking is associated with dyslipidemia which is atherogenic in nature

Photoreactivation of total heterotrophic bacteria in bottled drinking water after inactivation with pulsed ultra-violet light

Bacteria which cause opportunistic infections such as Pseudomonas can self resuscitate incircumstances where effective UV disinfection is compromised and is exposed to sunlight. The study investigated the effect of sub-lethal doses of pulsed ultra-violet (PUV) light on total heterotrophic bacteria (THB) in three brands of bottled water packed in glass and plastic bottles and how photoreactivation and dark repair occurred. The effect of exposure time on photoreactivation of Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa after inactivation with PUV was also investigated. THB in brands 1, 2 and 3 were completely inactivated by 7, 3 and 5 pulses of UV light respectively. Light repair of THB varied in the three brands of bottled water due perhaps to differences in the ionic composition of the three brands. Brands 1, 2 and 3 having 0.4, 0.7 and 1.7 log units of repair. respectively. Evidence of dark repair was not significant. Photo-repair in E. coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa increased gradually with continual exposure to irradiating light for a period after which there was a decrease, suggesting that for a particular bacterium and illuminating source, an optimum time of exposure exist during which maximum photo-repair occur

Photoneutron reaction cross section measurements on 94Mo and 90Zr relevant to the p-process nucleosynthesis

The photodisintegration cross sections for the 94Mo({\gamma},n) and 90Zr({\gamma},n) reactions have been experimentally investigated with quasi-monochromatic photon beams at the High Intensity {\gamma}-ray Source (HI{\gamma}S) facility of the Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory (TUNL). The energy dependence of the photoneutron reaction cross sections was measured with high precision from the respective neutron emission thresholds up to 13.5 MeV. These measurements contribute to a broader investigation of nuclear reactions relevant to the understanding of the p-process nucleosynthesis. The results are compared with the predictions of Hauser-Feshbach statistical model calculations using two different models for the dipole {\gamma}-ray strength function. The resulting 94Mo({\gamma},n) and 90Zr({\gamma},n) photoneutron stellar reaction rates as a function of temperature in the typical range of interest for the p-process nucleosynthesis show how sensitive the photoneutron stellar reaction rate can be to the experimental data in the vicinity of the neutron threshold