Development and characterization of enteric-coated salbutamol sulphate time release tablets.

In the present study, an attempt was made to develop immediate-release enteric-coated time release tablets of salbutamol sulphate for the treatment of nocturnal asthma. Nocturnal asthma is an asthma phenotype marked by nighttime increases in airway inflammation, airway hyper responsiveness, and expiratory airflow limitation. The occurrence of nocturnal asthma is associated with increased morbidity and inadequate asthma control, and has an important negative impact on quality of life. Formulation of enteric-coated time release tablets with suitable lag time could address the problems associated with asthma. To achieve this goal, immediate release tablets were prepared by direct compression method using superdisintegrants that contribute to the faster disintegration of tablet and thereby improved solubility of the drug. Different disintegrants like cross caramellose sodium, crospovidone and sodium starch glycolate in different concentrations (2.5 – 7.5%w/w) were tried in order to further improve disintegration time. The formulation, which showed best disintegration and dissolution profile, was coated with ethyl cellulose as inner layer and Eudragit S100 as outer enteric-coating polymer which does not dissolve at gastric pH but dissolve at intestinal pH, releasing the drug immediately in the alkaline medium. The optimized enteric-coated formulation E6 containing 2.5%w/w of Eudragit S 100 and 30%w/w of ethyl cellulose as coating system inhibited the release of the drug in 0.1 N HCl,  and whereas 99.04% of drug was released in the intestinal medium. Thus, dissolution profiles indicated that E6 tablet may be better alternative in the treatment of nocturnal asthma which overcomes the problems of conventional forms

Nutritional status of pregnant women reporting at Rural Health Training Centre

Background: United Nations had passed MDGs followed by SDGs, half of which are based on women’s health. Despite best efforts, malnutrition remains a major problem that affects our country. This is a significant risk factor for maternal and foetal mortality. This study was conducted to identify current status of maternal wellbeing in villages under an RHTC to get baseline for further interventional studies in the villages.Methods: A descriptive study was done on the rural pregnant patients attending RHTC of LNMC and JKH situated at outskirts of Bhopal was done. All pregnant women attending RHTC from January 2016 to June 2017 were studied for nutrition indicators. Their weight and height were recorded and haemoglobin was measured by Sahli’s Haemoglobinometer and the data was compared. WMA Declaration of Helsinki was followed during this study.Results: Two hundred participants in this study were between age ranges 17 to 35 years with gravidity level of the participants ranging 1 to 5. Their Body Mass Index (BMI) ranging 14 to 30. One fourth participants were having BMI of 18.5 or less and four fifth had anaemia.Conclusions: Majority of pregnant women reporting for prenatal checkup at RHTC are malnourished and anaemic. It is recommended to study government scheme at micro level if it is serving as cash incentive for frequent and multiple pregnancy to potentially catapult the desired effect to worsen the situation of maternal health on one side and population control on the other. Health education for the rural public is recommended

Development and characterization of enteric-coated salbutamol sulphate time release tablets.

In the present study, an attempt was made to develop immediate-release enteric-coated time release tablets of salbutamol sulphate for the treatment of nocturnal asthma. Nocturnal asthma is an asthma phenotype marked by nighttime increases in airway inflammation, airway hyper responsiveness, and expiratory airflow limitation. The occurrence of nocturnal asthma is associated with increased morbidity and inadequate asthma control, and has an important negative impact on quality of life. Formulation of enteric-coated time release tablets with suitable lag time could address the problems associated with asthma. To achieve this goal, immediate release tablets were prepared by direct compression method using superdisintegrants that contribute to the faster disintegration of tablet and thereby improved solubility of the drug. Different disintegrants like cross caramellose sodium, crospovidone and sodium starch glycolate in different concentrations (2.5 – 7.5%w/w) were tried in order to further improve disintegration time. The formulation, which showed best disintegration and dissolution profile, was coated with ethyl cellulose as inner layer and Eudragit S100 as outer enteric-coating polymer which does not dissolve at gastric pH but dissolve at intestinal pH, releasing the drug immediately in the alkaline medium. The optimized enteric-coated formulation E6 containing 2.5%w/w of Eudragit S 100 and 30%w/w of ethyl cellulose as coating system inhibited the release of the drug in 0.1 N HCl,  and whereas 99.04% of drug was released in the intestinal medium. Thus, dissolution profiles indicated that E6 tablet may be better alternative in the treatment of nocturnal asthma which overcomes the problems of conventional forms

Estimation of Seismic Loss Functions for Typical Steel Office Buildings

Drought is one of the most important abiotic stresses and severely affects global agricultural production. Root system architecture (RSA) is the key determinant of water acquisition under moisture stress, and therefore has utility in breeding for drought tolerance in sorghum. Various components of RSA are known to influence drought tolerance in sorghum without any negative impact on yield. The growth angle of nodal roots is an important target trait for improving drought tolerance. Genetic variation for nodal root angle has been reported in sorghum, and this has been associated with grain yield under drought stress. Rapid advances in sorghum genomics have led to the identification of various quantitative trait loci (QTL) governing RSA, but the accuracy and preciseness in identification of QTL is the major hindrance in development of drought-tolerant cultivars through genetic manipulation of root traits. Hence, the complex genetic control of RSA and the lack of a high-throughput phenotyping platform have hampered integration of selection for RSA in breeding programs. These limitations can be overcome by designing a robust phenotyping platform that can maximize heritability and repeatability of RSA. Inclusion of the extensive phenotyping information with the recently developed genomic resources of sorghum will lead to mining of alleles that govern RSA and tailor a cultivar harboring genes for RSA that improve sorghum production under drought stress. This chapter provides an overview of the latest developments in RSA research in sorghum and gives direction to future breeding strategies to enhance the genetic gain for root traits

Voices from the street: Comics for young men on masculinity, sexuality and HIV—An evidence-based communication initiative

HIV infection is spreading rapidly among young people in India. With more than 30 percent of new infections in 2006 in the 15–29-year age group, the need to address the vulnerability of this population subgroup is pressing. Existing literature shows that young men subscribe to norms of masculinity that lead to risky behavior patterns. Misinformation about HIV coupled with a low perception of risk to themselves make young men even more vulnerable. To bring about social and attitude change in the long-term, communication strategies that are evidence-based, culturally appropriate, and designed in consultation with target audiences are needed. The Population Council undertook a participatory communications project to create comic books on HIV prevention for young men in India’s urban slums. Four comics were designed presenting a real man as one who is caring, supportive, and responsible. As noted in this brief, the comics were published in four languages (Hindi, Telugu, Bengali, and English), and as of March 2007, about 250,000 comics have been distributed in four cities

An equilibrium optimizer with deep recurrent neural networks enabled intrusion detection in secure cyber-physical systems

Cyber-physical systems (CPSs) are characterized by their integration of physical processes with computational and communication components. These systems are utilized in various critical infrastructure sectors, including energy, healthcare, transportation, and manufacturing, making them attractive targets for cyberattacks. Intrusion detection system (IDS) has played a pivotal role in identifying and mitigating cyber threats in CPS environments. Intrusion detection in secure CPSs is a critical component of ensuring the integrity, availability, and safety of these systems. The deep learning (DL) algorithm is extremely applicable for detecting cyberattacks on IDS in CPS systems. As a core element of network security defense, cyberattacks can change and breach the security of network systems, and then an objective of IDS is to identify anomalous behaviors and act properly to defend the network from outside attacks. Deep learning (DL) and Machine learning (ML) algorithms are crucial for the present IDS. We introduced an Equilibrium Optimizer with a Deep Recurrent Neural Networks Enabled Intrusion Detection (EODRNN-ID) technique in the Secure CPS platform. The main objective of the EODRNN-ID method concentrates mostly on the detection and classification of intrusive actions from the platform of CPS. During the proposed EODRNN-ID method, a min-max normalization algorithm takes place to scale the input dataset. Besides, the EODRNN-ID method involves EO-based feature selection approach to choose the feature and lessen high dimensionality problem. For intrusion detection, the EODRNN-ID technique exploits the DRNN model. Finally, the hyperparameter related to the DRNN model can be tuned by the chimp optimization algorithm (COA). The simulation study of the EODRNN-ID methodology is verified on a benchmark data. Extensive results display the significant performance of the EODRNN-ID algorithm when compared to existing techniques

Evidence-based national vaccine policy

India has over a century old tradition of development and production of vaccines. The Government rightly adopted self-sufficiency in vaccine production and self-reliance in vaccine technology as its policy objectives in 1986. However, in the absence of a full-fledged vaccine policy, there have been concerns related to demand and supply, manufacture vs. import, role of public and private sectors, choice of vaccines, new and combination vaccines, universal vs. selective vaccination, routine immunization vs. special drives, cost-benefit aspects, regulatory issues, logistics etc. The need for a comprehensive and evidence based vaccine policy that enables informed decisions on all these aspects from the public health point of view brought together doctors, scientists, policy analysts, lawyers and civil society representatives to formulate this policy paper for the consideration of the Government. This paper evolved out of the first ever ICMR-NISTADS national brainstorming workshop on vaccine policy held during 4-5 June, 2009 in New Delhi, and subsequent discussions over email for several weeks, before being adopted unanimously in the present form

Nanotechnology integration for sars-cov-2 diagnosis and treatment: An approach to preventing pandemic

The SARS-CoV-2 outbreak is the COVID-19 disease, which has caused massive health devastation, prompting the World Health Organization to declare a worldwide health emergency. The corona virus infected millions of people worldwide, and many died as a result of a lack of particular medications. The current emergency necessitates extensive therapy in order to stop the spread of the coronavirus. There are various vaccinations available, but no validated COVID-19 treatments. Since its outbreak, many therapeutics have been tested, including the use of repurposed medications, nucleoside inhibitors, protease inhibitors, broad spectrum antivirals, convalescence plasma therapies, immune-modulators, and monoclonal antibodies. However, these approaches have not yielded any outcomes and are mostly used to alleviate symptoms associated with potentially fatal adverse drug reactions. Nanoparticles, on the other hand, may prove to be an effective treatment for COVID-19. They can be designed to boost the efficacy of currently available antiviral medications or to trigger a rapid immune response against COVID-19. In the last decade, there has been significant progress in nanotechnology. This review focuses on the virus’s basic structure, pathogenesis, and current treatment options for COVID-19. This study addresses nanotechnology and its applications in diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and targeted vaccine delivery, laying the groundwork for a successful pandemic fight