Antifungal Activity of Solventlessly Synthesized Organomercurials

A series of new barbituryl/thiobarbituryl substituted organomercurial derivatives 3a-i have been synthesised from pyrimidine derivatives 1a-c and arylmercuric chloride 2a-c over K2CO3 under microwave irradiations (MWI). This solventless synthesis apart from eliminating organic solvent from workup step, also gave improved yield as compared to the conventional heating, with reaction time reduced from hours to minutes. The prepared compounds were tested against A. niger and A. flavous for their antifungal activity and were found to posses good activity

Topological Transitions in Metamaterials

The ideas of mathematical topology play an important role in many aspects of modern physics - from phase transitions to field theory to nonlinear dynamics (Nakahara M (2003) in Geometry, Topology and Physics, ed Brewer DF (IOP Publishing Ltd, Bristol and Philadelphia), Monastryskiy M (1987) in Riemann Topology and Physics, (Birkhauser Verlag AG)). An important example of this is the Lifshitz transition (Lifshitz IM (1960) Anomalies of electron characteristics of a metal in the high-pressure region, Sov Phys JETP 11: 1130-1135), where the transformation of the Fermi surface of a metal from a closed to an open geometry (due to e.g. external pressure) leads to a dramatic effect on the electron magneto-transport (Kosevich AM (2004) Topology and solid-state physics. Low Temp Phys 30: 97-118). Here, we present the optical equivalent of the Lifshitz transition in strongly anisotropic metamaterials. When one of the components of the dielectric permittivity tensor of such a composite changes sign, the corresponding iso-frequency surface transforms from an ellipsoid to a hyperboloid. Since the photonic density of states can be related to the volume enclosed by the iso-frequency surface, such a topological transition in a metamaterial leads to a dramatic change in the photonic density of states, with a resulting effect on every single physical parameter related to the metamaterial - from thermodynamic quantities such as its equilibrium electromagnetic energy to the nonlinear optical response to quantum-electrodynamic effects such as spontaneous emission. In the present paper, we demonstrate the modification of spontaneous light emission from quantum dots placed near the surface of the metamaterial undergoing the topological Lifshitz transition, and present the theoretical description of the effect

Elevated protein kinase C alpha expression may be predictive of tamoxifen treatment failure

We previously reported that stable transfection of protein kinase C alpha (PKCα) into T47D human breast cancer cells results in tamoxifen (TAM)-resistant tumour growth. Relevance of PKCα expression in clinical specimens was determined by comparing PKCα expression in tumours from patients exhibiting disease recurrence with patients remaining disease-free following TAM treatment. Our results suggest that PKCα expression may predict TAM treatment failure

A rapid method for preparation of sarcolemma from frog skeletal muscle

A rapid method for the preparation of sarcolema from frog skeletal muscle has been described. The purified cell segments were transparent and devoid of contractile material. The Na+, K+ -ATPase and 5'-nucleotidase activities in sarcolemma purified by this method were comparable to those reported for sarcolemmal preparations purified by density gradient centrifugation. The preparation also possessed acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase and K+ -activated, ouabain-sensitive p-nitrophenyl phosphatase activities. The cholesterol to phospholipid ratio of the sarcolemma was 0.33, indicating its high purity; further, the preparation was free from mitochondria and contractile proteins

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection outcome using ejaculated sperm and retrieved sperm in azoospermic men.

Introduction:We aimed to determine pregnancy and miscarriage rates following intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles using retrieved epididymal and testicular sperm in azoospermic men and ejaculated sperm in oligospermic and normospermic men. Materials AndMethods: This retrospective study was carried out on 517 couples who underwent ICSI. They included 96 couples with azoospermia and 421 with oligospermia or normal sperm count in the male partner. Of the men with azoospermia, 69 underwent percutaneous epididymal aspiration (PESA) and 47 underwent testicular sperm extraction (TESE). In the 421 men with oligospermia or normal sperm count, ejaculated sperm was used for ICSI. The differences in the outcomes of ICSI using PESA or TESE and ejaculated sperm were evaluated. The main outcome measures were pregnancy and miscarriage rates.Results: No significant differences were seen in pregnancy and miscarriage rates with surgically retrieved and ejaculated sperm. The pregnancy rates (including frozen embryo transfer) were 43.5%, 36.2%, and 41.4% in couples with PESA, TESE, and ejaculated sperm, respectively (P = .93). The miscarriage rates were 16.7%, 23.5%, and 12.1%, respectively (P = .37).Conclusion: Intracytoplasmic sperm injection in combination with PESA and TESE is an effective method and can successfully be performed to treat men with azoospermia. The outcomes with these procedures are comparable to ICSI using ejaculated sperm

ABC and VED Analysis of the Pharmacy Store of a Tertiary Care Teaching, Research and Referral Healthcare Institute of India

The ABC and VED (vital, essential, desirable) analysis of the pharmacy store of Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India, was conducted to identify the categories of items needing stringent management control. The annual consumption and expenditure incurred on each item of pharmacy for the year 2007-08 was analyzed and inventory control techniques, i.e. ABC, VED and ABC-VED matrix analysis, were applied. The drug formulary of the pharmacy consisted of 421 items. The total annual drug expenditure (ADE) on items issued in 2007-08 was Rs. 40,012,612. ABC analysis revealed 13.78%, 21.85% and 64.37% items as A, B and C category items, respectively, accounting for 69.97%, 19.95% and 10.08% of ADE of the pharmacy. VED analysis showed 12.11%, 59.38% and 28.51% items as V, E, and D category items, respectively, accounting for 17.14%, 72.38% and 10.48% of ADE of the pharmacy. On ABC-VED matrix analysis, 22.09%, 54.63% and 23.28% items were found to be category I, II and III items, respectively, accounting for 74.21%, 22.23% and 3.56% of ADE of the pharmacy. The ABC and VED techniques need to be adopted as a routine practice for optimal use of resources and elimination of out-of-stock situations in the hospital pharmacy

Solvent free hydroxylation of the methyl esters of Blighia unijugata seed oil in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium permanganate

Extraction of oil from the seed of Blighia unijugata gave a yield of 50.82 ± 1.20% using hexane in a soxhlet extractor. The iodine and saponification values were 67.60 ± 0.80 g iodine/100 g and 239.20 ± 1.00 mg KOH/g respectively with C18:1 being the dominant fatty acid. Unsaturated methyl esters of Blighia unijugata which had been previously subjected to urea adduct complexation was used to synthesize methyl 9, 10-dihydroxyoctadecanoate via hydroxylation in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium permanganate (CTAP). The reaction was monitored and confirmed using FTIR and GC-MS. This study has revealed that oxidation reaction of mono unsaturated bonds using CTAP could be achieved under solvent free condition