Antimicrobial and cytotoxic activity of Streptomyces sp. from Lonar Lake

Antibacterial substances from actinomycetes were isolated from marine environment of Lonar Lake and characterized. Out of the 24 isolates subjected to secondary screening, 12 isolates were active againstBacillus subtilis, 13 against Staphylococcus aureus, 7 against Escherichia coli, 3 against Proteus vulgaris and 4 against Salmonella typhi. Metabolites in the extract of broth of 48 hrgrown Streptomyces spp. culture no.2 proved to have antimicrobial and cytotoxic against human lung carcinoma cell A549

Design and Fabrication of Colloidal Delivery Systems to Encapsulate and Protect Curcumin: An Important Hydrophobic Nutraceutical

Curcumin is a polyphenolic compound found in Turmeric (Curcuma longa) rhizome that has excellent biological benefits such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer properties to name a few. However, its incorporation in food and pharmaceuticals is difficult due to low water solubility and chemical instability. This study focuses on developing colloidal delivery systems for efficient encapsulation and increased protection of curcumin for maximizing the proposed health benefits of curcumin. It was found that the physical and chemical stability of pure curcumin is impacted by pH, storage temperature, and molecular environment both in aqueous solutions and in oil-in-water emulsions. Pure curcumin was highly unstable to chemical degradation in neutral and alkaline aqueous solutions (pH ≥ 7.0) and it was most stable in acidic oil-in-water emulsions. Curcumin stability in emulsions depended on the emulsifier type, and the extent of curcumin degradation decreased in the following order: saponins \u3e \u3e gum arabic ≈ caseinate ≈ Tween 80. These results suggest that saponin accelerated curcumin degradation, which may be due to their ability to promote peroxidation reactions or it may be due to the presence of impurities in them, e.g. metals. The kinetics of curcumin degradation was significantly impacted by the mean droplet diameters (d32). The more rapid chemical degradation of the curcumin in the smaller droplets can be attributed to the fact that curcumin exchange between the interior and exterior of the droplets occurs more rapidly as the droplet dimensions decrease. Antioxidants were incorporated to protect curcumin in an emulsion having small droplets. The water-soluble antioxidants were more effective at protecting curcumin from degradation than the oil-soluble ones, which may have been because curcumin degrades faster in water than in oil, while the oil-soluble antioxidant actually slightly promoted curcumin degradation. Finally, the formation of nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) was optimized which, unlike O/W emulsion, consists of a solidified fat phase. NLCs were formulated using a hot-homogenization approach using fully hydrogenated soybean oil as the lipid phase and quillaja saponins as a natural surfactant. Characterization and stability studies revealed that NLCs have the potential to replace oil-in-water emulsions in commercial foods. Future studies are needed to establish their functional performance for curcumin encapsulation and protection. In summary, this study showed that the stability of curcumin in emulsions depends on various physicochemical parameters. This knowledge is important in designing and fabrication of colloidal systems for curcumin delivery

SPIN MULTIPLICITY ON STRUCTURE AND VIBRATIONAL SPECTRUM OF CYANAMIDE

Objective: The geometrical optimization, vibrational spectrum of cyanamide in singlet, triplet and quintet state using Density functional Theory method. Materials and Methods: The methods used here are MP2, MP3, MP4 and DFT method with different exchange and correlation functional (BLYP, B3LYP, B3PW91, PBEPBE, PBE1PBE) and different basis sets viz. 6-311G, 6-311+G, 6-311+G*, 6-311++G*, 6-311++G**, aug-cc-pvdz, aug-cc-pvtz and SDD to know at what level of theory cyanamide has the lowest energy. All the calculations are performed using Gaussian suit of program Results: Cyanamide shows the lowest energy at B3LYP/aug-cc-pvdz level among different levels used here. The geometrical parameter and vibrational frequencies obtain at this level are in close agreement with the experimental determinations. Out of nine vibrational modes, seven modes in triplet and eight in quintet state are red shifted than those in a singlet state. The only blue shifted mode in quintet is the C-N stretching mode with a blue shifted of 220 cm-1 than that for the singlet. Conclusion: The geometrical parameter and vibrational frequencies obtain at this level are in close agreement with the experimental determinations. The dipole moment decreases in higher spin state than the single

ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF PRESCRIPTION OPIOID USE VERSUS NO USE ON ADHERENCE TO CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD) MAINTENANCE MEDICATIONS, COPD EXACERBATIONS AND TOTAL HEALTHCARE COSTS

OBJECTIVES:COPD contributes significant morbidity and mortality worldwide and is currently the third leading cause of mortality in the United States. Chronic pain prevalence is high among COPD patients leading to a high rate of prescription opioid use. The potential impact of concurrent prescription opioid use on COPD maintenance medication adherence, COPD exacerbations, and total healthcare costs is not well understood. The study objectives were i) to assess the impact of prescription opioid use compared to no prescription opioid use on COPD maintenance medication adherence in 90, 180, 270, and 365-day follow-up periods, and ii) to assess the impact of long-term prescription opioid use (≥ 90 day prescription opioid supply in a one-year period) compared to no prescription opioid use on COPD maintenance medication adherence, COPD exacerbations and total healthcare costs in one-year follow-up period. METHODS:Patients with COPD diagnosis were identified using ICD9-CM diagnosis codes and COPD maintenance medication prescription claims from the Truven Health MarketScan®Commercial Claims and Encounters Database from July 1, 2008 to December 31, 2009. COPD patients with prescription opioid claims were matched 1:1 to non-opioid users on baseline characteristics: age (±3 years), sex, severe and moderate COPD exacerbations, oxygen therapy use, short-acting beta2-agonist use, COPD maintenance medication adherence, and asthma status.Conditional multiple logistic regression, multiple negative binomial regression and generalized linear model with a gamma distribution and log-link function were used to identify the impact of long-term prescription opioid use versus no opioid use on COPD maintenance medication adherence [defined as proportion of days covered (PDC) ≥ 0.8], COPD exacerbations, total healthcare costs in a one-year period, respectively. RESULTS:A total of 5,541 matched pairs of prescription opioid versus non-opioid users were identified. After adjusting for confounders, prescription opioid use was associated with statistically significantly lower odds of being adherent to COPD maintenance medications compared to no use of prescription opioids in all the four follow-up periods. Long-term prescription opioid users (n=566) had significantly higher mean Deyo-Charlson comorbidity scores (2.4±1.8 vs 1.7±1.2, p\u3c0.0001), presence of comorbid chronic conditions (86.6% vs 76.3%, p\u3c0.0001) and comorbid pain conditions (93.5% vs 70.7%, p\u3c0.0001). After adjusting for confounders, long-term prescription opioid use was associated with 0.63 times (95% CI 0.46-0.88, p\u3c0.01) lower odds of being adherent to COPD maintenance medications; and long-term prescription opioid users had higher adjusted mean all-cause total healthcare costs $23,996 (±$1,106.22) vs $13,947 (±$512.67), p\u3c0.0001], compared to non-users of prescription opioids. Long-term prescription opioid use was not statistically significantly associated with severe or total (moderate + severe) COPD exacerbations. CONCLUSIONS:Concurrent long-term use of prescription opioids may significantly lower COPD maintenance medication adherence which may translate into higher total all-cause healthcare costs and requires additional investigation

Assessing the utilization of inhaled corticosteroids and health care services for asthma by Hispanic and non-Hispanic white patients using the medical expenditure panel survey

Objectives: Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are widely used in the management of asthma. Prior research suggests that asthmatic patients access to ICS may vary by ethnicity. The objectives of the study were to determine if there is a difference in the proportion of Hispanic and non-Hispanic White patients in the receipt of ICS prescription for asthma and to determine the independent predictors of receiving an ICS prescription in asthmatic patients. The study further examined the utilization of asthma-related healthcare services (office visits, prescription fills, inpatient visits, and emergency room visits) in Hispanic and non-Hispanic White asthmatic patients. Methods: The U.S. Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) 2009 dataset was utilized to compare the receipt of ICS prescription and use of healthcare services among patients with asthma. The sample size was restricted to Hispanic and non-Hispanic White patients, above 4 years of age with ICD-9CM codes for asthma between January 1 and December 31, 2009. The proportion of patients receiving an ICS prescription within the defined timeframe was compared by ethnicity in chi-square analysis. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine significant predictors of receiving an ICS prescription and utilization of asthma-related healthcare services. Results: A total of 1,469 patients which is representative of 14,476,600 US Hispanic and non-Hispanic White asthmatic patients satisfied the study inclusion criteria. Of the total study population, 16.1% were Hispanics, 59.5% were females, and the mean age of the study population was 39.9±0.03 years. About 40% of non-Hispanic White asthmatics (35% children and 41.6% adults) had a receipt of ICS prescription compared to 22% of Hispanics (23.9% children and 21.2% adults), (p\u3c.0001). Adult Hispanic asthmatic patients ( 6518 years old) had 0.43 (95%CI: 0.28—0.67) times lower odds of receiving an ICS prescription compared to non-Hispanic White asthmatic patients, independent of other factors. However, there was no significant difference between Hispanic and non-Hispanic White asthmatic children (4 to 17 years old) in the receipt of ICS prescription. Among adults, being 65 years and older (vs. 18 to 40 years old OR: 2.23; 95%CI: 1.30—3.84), being a non-smoker (vs. smoker OR: 1.86; 95%CI: 1.13 - 3.07), being uninsured (vs. private insurance OR: 0.34; 95%CI: 0.17—0.7), belonging to high income group (vs. poor/negative income group OR: 3.07; 95%CI: 1.74—5.41), residing in the west (vs. northeast OR: 0.50; 95%CI: 0.31—0.82), having a SABA prescription (vs. no SABA prescription OR: 0.33; 95%CI: 0.23—0.46), and having better overall health (OR: 1.32; 95%CI: 1.06—1.64) were predictive of receipt of ICS prescription, independent of other factors. Among children, patients who received a SABA prescription had 0.23 (95%CI: 0.12—0.43) lower odds of having a receipt of ICS medication as compared to patients who did not receive a SABA prescription. We also found that Hispanic patients had higher odds of having an asthma-related office visit (OR: 1.46; 95%CI: 1.10—1.93), emergency room visit (OR: 3.38; 95%CI: 1.64—6.95), and inpatient visit (OR: 6.94; 95%CI: 1.33—36.24) as compared to non-Hispanic Whites. Also, patients who did not receive an ICS prescription had 0.47 (95%CI: 0.35—0.63) times lower odds of having an asthma-related office visits as compared to patients who received an ICS prescription. Conclusion: The disparity in ICS prescription patterns between Hispanic and non-Hispanic White asthmatic patients may translate into suboptimal asthma management, a higher rate of exacerbations, and higher healthcare costs in this growing minority population. The differences and potential disparities in ICS use between Hispanic and non-Hispanic White asthmatic patients warrant further investigation

ALIPHATIC ORGANIC COMPOUNDS : A SUBSTITUTE OF FERRITE MATERIALS IN ISOLATOR FOR HIGH FREQUENCY APPLICATION

Frequency instability of source oscillator is one of the major hurdles in microwave generator for example : klystron, magnetron, etc. one of the primary source of such instability is the reflection from the load side that highly affects the generating frequency.[10] isolators are the unanimous solution for such problems. Since the energy of the reflected wave resulting from load mismatch are dominantly absorb by the isolator that prevent the frequency instability in the source generator. Till date ferrites have been employed as the fundamental material in isolator.[10] the operation of ferrite isolator rely on the principal that when a circularly polarized wave is made to pass through a ferrite rod, which has been influence by an axial magnetic field, the axis of polarization gets tilted in clockwise direction and the amount tilt depends upon the strength of magnetic field and geometry of the ferrite. Some recent findings do suggest that aliphatic organic compounds are capable of exhibiting faradays rotation.[12] faradays rotation is mainly dependent on verdant constant and novel materials are required to obtain optimized verdant constant for tailor made high frequency application. This article highlight the feasibility and applicability of aliphatic organic compound in isolator applications the aim is to attract the technical interest towards employment of optimized organic materials for obtaining requisite verdant constant required for faradays rotation

Cytogenetical and Morphological Variations in EMS treated Glycine max Linn.

Abstract Cytogenetical and morphological investigations have been carried out in EMS treated seeds of high protein containing important crop plant, Glycine max Linn., a member of papilionaceae family. The healthy and uniform seeds were treated with 0.02, 0.06 and 0.1 %   of potent chemical mutagen, Ethyl Methane Sulphonate for 4 hrs. and 6 hrs. treatment durations. The dose dependent fluctuations in mitotic index, the Chromosomal aberrations, and variations in biochemical content were observed in EMS treated sample system. The EMS treatment with 0.1 % concentration for 6 hrs. treatment duration was noticed as  potentially adverse as it induces high level of chromosomal abnormalities ( 9.96 %) in comparison to all other studied treatments. The aberration types like stickiness and single and multiple bridges were of common occurrence. Other chromosomal aberrations were precocious movement, chromosomal laggards and unequal distribution of chromosomes. The mitotic index was reduced to half, (6.77%), in 0.1 % EMS with 6 hrs. treatment duration when compared to control (12.42 %). The results on protein estimation (Lowry et.al.1951) were interesting since high EMS concentration at higher treatment duration indicated slight increase in the protein content (4.12 mg/100 gms.) over control estimate (3.8 mg/100 gms.). The morphovariants with respect to change in leaf margin (0.02 % EMS, 6 hrs.), early flowering (0.1 % EMS, 4 hrs.), chlorophylls chimeras (0.1 % EMS, 6 hrs.) and variation in protein content have been observed in the treated plants

Preparation and Diverse Properties of Cobalt Ferrite Ferrofluid

The synthesis of cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) nanoparticles by sol-gel auto-combustion and their characterization by standard techniques like X-ray diffraction (XRD) used to characterize the structure, the size of the nanoparticlesafter successful characterization, these magnetic CoFe2O4nanoparticles were dispersed in water to obtain ferrite nanofluids i.e. ferrofluids. Poly-vinyl- alcohol was used as surfactant while preparing ferrofluids. In this study, CoFe2O4nanoparticles were synthesized by sol-gel auto-combustion technique. StableCoFe2O4 ferrofluids in various volume fractions (0.0, 0.5 and 1.0) have been prepared using water as base liquid. Poly-vinylalcohol was used to increase the inter particle interactions of surface modified CoFe2O4 nanoparticles. Specific gravity bottlewas used to measure density, Ostwald’s viscometer used for viscosity measurements and ultrasonic investigationsare done by ultrasonic interferometer at 2 MHz for the ferrofluids at different temperatures

Practical aspects of integrated 1D2D flood modelling of urban floodplains using LiDAR topography data

Flood risk, a major risk facing mankind today, is projected to aggravate in view of the future predictions pertaining to the assessment of climate change scenarios. Traditionally, flood risk assessment exercises of urban floodplains have been carried out using 1D model as well as 1D model with storage cells. In view of the recent availability of high quality Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) topography data, availability of higher computing capacities, developments in the numerical computing techniques and the merits of an integrated 1D2D computing modelling method, integrated 1D2D modelling has gained a momentum for strategic flood risk management (SFRM) and detailed urban flood risk analysis. The research discussed in this thesis evaluates this modelling method using high quality LiDAR data in light of the results from the traditionally used 1D model with storage cells modelling method. The research study was carried out using laboratory experimental observation data, hypothetical urban floodplain data and data for a section of the River Clyde and adjoining urban floodplain in Glasgow, a major city in Scotland, UK. It concludes that, while integrated 1D2D models are of much benefit for a detailed flood risk analysis, specific attention needs to be paid towards the lateral extents of 1D model and the source of the river bank elevations while integrating it with a 2D model, particularly so when such a study is carried out for urban floodplains; and that the high quality LiDAR data significantly facilitates Strategic Flood Risk Modelling (SRFM) of urban floodplains