Induction of male flowers on female plants of Cannabis sativa by gibberellins and its inhibition by abscisic acid

Gibberellins (GA3, GA4+7, GA7 and GA9) induce male flowers on female plants of Cannabis sativa. This is, depending on concentration, partially or fully inhibited by abscisic acid (ABA). The ABA effect can in turn be partially overcome by increasing the concentration of GA3

EFFECT OF pH, SELECTED CYCLODEXTRINS AND COMPLEXATION METHODS ON THE SOLUBILITY OF LORNOXICAM

Objective: The objective of the present study is to investigate the effect of pH, selected cyclodextrins and methods of complexation on the solubility of lornoxicam. Methods: Phase solubility studies were carried out according to Higuchi and Connors. Inclusion complexes of lornoxicam were prepared by different methods like kneading, ultrasoncation, spray drying along with the physical mixtures using β cyclodextrin and hydroxypropyl β cyclodextrins. Results: Lornoxicam being weakly acidic drug showed extremely low solubility in the acidic medium (pH 1.2) and poor solubility in water. The solubility of the drug increased as the pH of the medium was subsequently increased up to 7.4 and a drastic increase in solubility perhaps several hundred folds was observed with the alkaline phosphate buffer (pH 10.0). Phase solubility studies revealed that, hydroxypropyl β cyclodextrin (HP β CD) up to the concentration of 20 mM showed a linear increase in solubility of lornoxicam whereas the solubility of lornoxicam was increased up to β cyclodextrin (β CD) concentration of 14 mM and beyond that the solubility of the drug reduced probably due to precipitation of the complexes. The stability constant (Ks) was found to be 378.55 M-1 and 867.262 M-1 for β CD and HP β CD respectively. Inclusion complexes of lornoxicam with cyclodextrins were prepared employing different methods and the effect of complexation methods on the dissolution of lornoxicam was studied. Dissolution studies revealed that, irrespective of the cyclodextrins used (β CD and HP β CD), highest drug release rate was observed from the spray dried products compared to those prepared by kneading and ultrasonication methods. Inclusion complexes prepared using HP β CD showed higher drug release compared to those prepared using β CD. Conclusion: The study demonstrated the distinctive pH dependent of solubility of lornoxicam and also showed that cyclodextrins especially HP β CD can be utilized to improve the solubility of lornoxicam

Investigations on tensile fractography and wear characteristics of Al7075-Al2O3-SiC Hybrid Metal Matrix Composites routed through liquid metallurgical techniques

The Al2O3-SiC reinforced Al7075 Metal Matrix Composite (MMCs) is fabricated through liquid metallurgical technique. Ceramic particulates were amalgamated into aluminium alloy to achieve improved mechanical properties and wear resistance. Al-7075/Al2O3/SiC hybrid MMCs were produced by reinforcing 2%, 3%, 4% and 5% of Al2O3 and 3%, 5% and 7% of SiC particles. Microstructural analysis was carried out to evaluate the uniform dispersal of reinforcing particulates within the base matrix. The output results indicate that the mechanical properties of the hybrid MMCs enhanced by increase the wt. % of ceramic particulates. Tensile fractography results show the internal fracture structure of the tensile test specimens in which the particulates fracture and pullouts were observed. The wear characteristics of developed composites are studied using pin on disc apparatus. The high wear resistance is observed at 5% Al2O3 + 7% SiC reinforced MMCs

Machinability study on Al7075/Al2O3-SiC hybrid composites

In the present research, the effects of volume fraction of SiC+Al2O3 particles and aging temperature on the machinability of stir-casted Al7075 metal matrix composites (MMC) have been investigated. The hybrid composites were fabricated using the liquid metallurgy route. Al7075 was reinforced with different wt. % of SiC (3%, 6%, and 9%) and Al2O3 (2%, 4%, and 6%) which were used to fabricate the hybrid metal matrix composites. The samples were aged at different temperatures (140 ºC, 160 ºC, and 180 ºC) for 4 h and cooled at furnace temperature (27 ºC). The machinability of hybrid metal matrix composites was studied by carrying out L27 orthogonal array experiments. Three process parameters were selected, such as 0.2 mm/min of the depth of cut, 0.1 mm/min of feed rate, and 1500 rpm of spindle speed. The obtained results indicate that the surface roughness and machining force of MMCs increase with an increase in weight percentage of Al2O3/SiC and decrease with the increase in aging temperature. Optimum machining force and surface roughness were obtained at 2% Al2O3 + 3 % SiC and 180°C of aging temperature

Chiral-symmetry restoration in the linear sigma model at nonzero temperature and baryon density

We study the chiral phase transition in the linear sigma model with 2 quark flavors and $N_c$ colors. One-loop calculations predict a first-order phase transition at both $\mu=0$ and $\mu\neq 0$. We also discuss the phase diagram and make a comparison with a thermal parametrization of existing heavy-ion experimental data.Comment: 12 pages, 6 ps-figures, LaTe

The Chiral Fermion Meson Model at Finite Temperature

We study the chiral fermion meson model which is the well known linear sigma model of Gell-Mann-and-Levy at finite temperature.A modified self-consistent resummation (MSCR) which resums higher order terms in the perturbative expansion is proposed. It is shown that with the MSCR the problem of tachyonic masses is solved, the renormalization of the gap equations is carried out and the Goldstone's theorem is verified. We also apply the method to investigate another known case at high temperature and compare with results found in the literature.Comment: 31 pages, 9 EPS figures. Final version with extended Concluding Remarks section, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Center-of-Mass Properties of the Exciton in Quantum Wells

We present high-quality numerical calculations of the exciton center-of-mass dispersion for GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells of widths in the range 2-20 nm. The k.p-coupling of the heavy- and light-hole bands is fully taken into account. An optimized center-of-mass transformation enhances numerical convergence. We derive an easy-to-use semi-analytical expression for the exciton groundstate mass from an ansatz for the exciton wavefunction at finite momentum. It is checked against the numerical results and found to give very good results. We also show multiband calculations of the exciton groundstate dispersion using a finite-differences scheme in real space, which can be applied to rather general heterostructures.Comment: 19 pages, 12 figures included, to be published in Phys. Rev.

Metabolic Syndrome: a challenging health Issue in highly urbanized Union Territory of north India

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Objectives</p> <p>1. To determine the prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome in adults aged 18 years and above in Chandigarh, India. 2. To determine the socio-demographic factors associated with MS. 3. To determine the agreement between IDF (International Diabetes federation definition) and ATP-III (National Cholesterol Education Program Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults criteria).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In a community based cross-sectional study, total 605 subjects aged 18 yrs and above were studied using multistage random sampling.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome was estimated by using IDF and ATP-III criteria. By IDF, Metabolic Syndrome was found in 287 (47.4%) subjects and it was more prevalent among females 171 (59.6%) as compared to males 116 (40.4%). By applying ATP-III overall prevalence was less i.e. 233 (38.5%) but again its prevalence was more among females 141 (44.8%) than males 116 (39.5%). Higher socioeconomic status, sedentary occupation and high body mass index were significantly associated with Metabolic Syndrome.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Metabolic Syndrome is a major health problem in the region and proper emphasis should be given on its prevention and control.</p

Progress in Classical and Quantum Variational Principles

We review the development and practical uses of a generalized Maupertuis least action principle in classical mechanics, in which the action is varied under the constraint of fixed mean energy for the trial trajectory. The original Maupertuis (Euler-Lagrange) principle constrains the energy at every point along the trajectory. The generalized Maupertuis principle is equivalent to Hamilton's principle. Reciprocal principles are also derived for both the generalized Maupertuis and the Hamilton principles. The Reciprocal Maupertuis Principle is the classical limit of Schr\"{o}dinger's variational principle of wave mechanics, and is also very useful to solve practical problems in both classical and semiclassical mechanics, in complete analogy with the quantum Rayleigh-Ritz method. Classical, semiclassical and quantum variational calculations are carried out for a number of systems, and the results are compared. Pedagogical as well as research problems are used as examples, which include nonconservative as well as relativistic systems

Anti-angiogenic effects of pterogynidine alkaloid isolated from Alchornea glandulosa

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Angiogenesis, a complex multistep process that comprehends proliferation, migration and anastomosis of endothelial cells (EC), has a major role in the development of pathologic conditions such as inflammatory diseases, tumor growth and metastasis. Brazilian flora, the most diverse in the world, is an interesting spot to prospect for new chemical leads, being an important source of new anticancer drugs. Plant-derived alkaloids have traditionally been of interest due to their pronounced physiological activities. We investigated the anti-angiogenic potential of the naturally occurring guanidine alkaloid pterogynidine (Pt) isolated from the Brazilian plant <it>Alchornea glandulosa</it>. The purpose of this study was to examine which features of the angiogenic process could be disturbed by Pt.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were incubated with 8 μM Pt and cell viability, proliferation, apoptosis, invasion and capillary-like structures formation were addressed. Nuclear factor κB (NFκB), a transcription factor implicated in these processes, was also evaluated in HUVEC incubated with Pt. Quantifications were expressed as mean ± SD of five independent experiments and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by the Dunnet test was used.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A significant decrease in proliferation and invasion capacity and an effective increase in apoptosis as assessed by bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU), double-chamber and terminal transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay, respectively, have been found. Pt also led to a drastic reduction in the number of capillary-like structures formation when HUVEC were cultured on growth factor reduced-Matrigel (GFR-Matrigel) coated plates. In addition, incubation of HUVEC with Pt resulted in reduced NFκB activity.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These findings emphasize the potential use of Pt against pathological situations where angiogenesis is stimulated as tumor development.</p