Antimicrobial study of Arjuna Terminalia loaded PLGA nanoparticle

291-297The bark of Terminilia Arjuna is known for its numerous health benefits in traditional system of medicine. Nanotechnology based delivery system have added advantages of action at targeted location and improved cellular uptake. In the present paper, polymeric nanoparticles of methanolic extract of Terminilia Arjuna (Arjun ki chhal) were synthesized by using solvent evaporation method. The synthesized polymeric nanoparticles were further characterized using SEM, TEM, XRD, FTIR followed by evaluation of antimicrobial activity. The SEM images showed spherical shaped nanoparticles. Further TEM images revealed that particles of size as small as 50-75 nm are formed. PLGA encapsulated nanoparticles shows entrapment efficiency as high as 96.8% and percentage yield comes out to be 45.3. Antimicrobial study using cup-plate method was carried out using two strains of gram (+) bacteria S. aureus and B. pumilus and two strains of gram (-) bacteria E. Coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa which shows MIC at 2000 ppm for gram (+) bacteria (both S. aureus and B. pumilus) and 5000 ppm (E. coli) and 6000 ppm (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) for gram (-) bacteria. From the results obtained it is proposed that polymeric nanoparticles were successfully formed which will enhance the efficacy of active components in the bark of Terminilia Arjuna and also demonstrates promising use in various pharmaceutical formulations as they show considerable results in the inhibition of bacterial growth

An observational study to find association of serum vitamin B12 and folate level with neonatal weight at a tertiary care centre

Background: In developing countries like India, low birth weight is a challenging and important public health problem as it has adverse effect on growth and development of children. Vitamin B12 and folate are micronutrients essential for normal foetal growth and development. Maternal folate and B12 concentrations have been positively associated with birth weight. The aim of this study was to evaluate maternal folate and vitamin B12 status in pregnant women in third trimester of pregnancy and to find their relation with foetal birth weight.Methods: 171 pregnant women in their third trimester with live singleton pregnancy were included in the study. S. vitamin B12 and folate levels were measured and results were analysed.Results: Mean maternal vitamin B12 level in mothers with LBW infants was significantly lower than that of mothers of ABW infants (143.23±91.79 vs 188.8±109.64 respectively p≤0.001) and mean maternal folate level in mothers with LBW infants was lower than that of mothers of ABW infants (8.46±8.94 vs 9.96±12.57 respectively p=0.054). There was a weak positive but statistically significant correlation between baby weight (kg) and S. vitamin B12 (rho=0.24, p=0.002) and S. folate (rho=0.17, p=0.029).Conclusions: The present study confirms that maternal low vitamin B12 level and low S. folate levels are associated with low birth weight so during antenatal visit women should be screened for vitamin B12 and folate deficiency and vitamin supplementation should be continued throughout the pregnancy

Evaluation of the Efficacy of a New Dichoptic Digital Platform to Treat the Anisometropic and Isometropic Amblyopia

The aim of the current study was to evaluate the results of a novel dichoptic training program using an online platform in a group of subjects with refractive amblyopia, performing a comparative analysis of unilateral and bilateral amblyopic cases. For this purpose, a retrospective study analysis of data of 161 children (4–13 years) who underwent dichoptic treatment with the Bynocs® platform (Kanohi Eye Pvt. Ltd., India) was performed. In all cases, the therapy protocol consisted of sessions of training of 30 min daily 5 times a week for 6 weeks. Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in the non-dominant eye improved significantly with the treatment, with a mean change of 0.39 logMAR in the whole sample (p < 0.001). Regarding binocularity, the binocular function (BF) score also experienced a significant improvement (p < 0.001), with a mean change of 1.55 with therapy in the whole sample. The BCVA of the dominant eye only improved significantly (p < 0.001) in the isometropic amblyopic subgroup. In conclusion, the use of the dichoptic therapy with the digital platform evaluated allows an effective restoration of visual acuity and binocular function in children with anisometropic and isometropic amblyopia.The author David P Piñero has been supported by the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness of Spain within the program Ramón y Cajal, RYC‐2016‐20471

Nucleotide Sequencing and Identification of Some Wild Mushrooms

The rDNA-ITS (Ribosomal DNA Internal Transcribed Spacers) fragment of the genomic DNA of 8 wild edible mushrooms (collected from Eastern Chota Nagpur Plateau of West Bengal, India) was amplified using ITS1 (Internal Transcribed Spacers 1) and ITS2 primers and subjected to nucleotide sequence determination for identification of mushrooms as mentioned. The sequences were aligned using ClustalW software program. The aligned sequences revealed identity (homology percentage from GenBank data base) of Amanita hemibapha [CN (Chota Nagpur) 1, % identity 99 (JX844716.1)], Amanita sp. [CN 2, % identity 98 (JX844763.1)], Astraeus hygrometricus [CN 3, % identity 87 (FJ536664.1)], Termitomyces sp. [CN 4, % identity 90 (JF746992.1)], Termitomyces sp. [CN 5, % identity 99 (GU001667.1)], T. microcarpus [CN 6, % identity 82 (EF421077.1)], Termitomyces sp. [CN 7, % identity 76 (JF746993.1)], and Volvariella volvacea [CN 8, % identity 100 (JN086680.1)]. Although out of 8 mushrooms 4 could be identified up to species level, the nucleotide sequences of the rest may be relevant to further characterization. A phylogenetic tree is constructed using Neighbor-Joining method showing interrelationship between/among the mushrooms. The determined nucleotide sequences of the mushrooms may provide additional information enriching GenBank database aiding to molecular taxonomy and facilitating its domestication and characterization for human benefits

Albiglutide and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (Harmony Outcomes): a double-blind, randomised placebo-controlled trial

Background: Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists differ in chemical structure, duration of action, and in their effects on clinical outcomes. The cardiovascular effects of once-weekly albiglutide in type 2 diabetes are unknown. We aimed to determine the safety and efficacy of albiglutide in preventing cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke. Methods: We did a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial in 610 sites across 28 countries. We randomly assigned patients aged 40 years and older with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (at a 1:1 ratio) to groups that either received a subcutaneous injection of albiglutide (30–50 mg, based on glycaemic response and tolerability) or of a matched volume of placebo once a week, in addition to their standard care. Investigators used an interactive voice or web response system to obtain treatment assignment, and patients and all study investigators were masked to their treatment allocation. We hypothesised that albiglutide would be non-inferior to placebo for the primary outcome of the first occurrence of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke, which was assessed in the intention-to-treat population. If non-inferiority was confirmed by an upper limit of the 95% CI for a hazard ratio of less than 1·30, closed testing for superiority was prespecified. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02465515. Findings: Patients were screened between July 1, 2015, and Nov 24, 2016. 10 793 patients were screened and 9463 participants were enrolled and randomly assigned to groups: 4731 patients were assigned to receive albiglutide and 4732 patients to receive placebo. On Nov 8, 2017, it was determined that 611 primary endpoints and a median follow-up of at least 1·5 years had accrued, and participants returned for a final visit and discontinuation from study treatment; the last patient visit was on March 12, 2018. These 9463 patients, the intention-to-treat population, were evaluated for a median duration of 1·6 years and were assessed for the primary outcome. The primary composite outcome occurred in 338 (7%) of 4731 patients at an incidence rate of 4·6 events per 100 person-years in the albiglutide group and in 428 (9%) of 4732 patients at an incidence rate of 5·9 events per 100 person-years in the placebo group (hazard ratio 0·78, 95% CI 0·68–0·90), which indicated that albiglutide was superior to placebo (p&lt;0·0001 for non-inferiority; p=0·0006 for superiority). The incidence of acute pancreatitis (ten patients in the albiglutide group and seven patients in the placebo group), pancreatic cancer (six patients in the albiglutide group and five patients in the placebo group), medullary thyroid carcinoma (zero patients in both groups), and other serious adverse events did not differ between the two groups. There were three (&lt;1%) deaths in the placebo group that were assessed by investigators, who were masked to study drug assignment, to be treatment-related and two (&lt;1%) deaths in the albiglutide group. Interpretation: In patients with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, albiglutide was superior to placebo with respect to major adverse cardiovascular events. Evidence-based glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists should therefore be considered as part of a comprehensive strategy to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes. Funding: GlaxoSmithKline

A Comprehensive Review Of the Quadratic High Gain DC-DC Converter For Fuel Cell Application

In the recent times, lot of research work carried out in the field of fuel cells explicitly divulges that it has the potential to be an ultimate power source in upcoming years. The fuel cell has more storing capacity, which enables to use in heavy power applications. In these applications, power conditioning is more vital to regulate the output voltage. Hence, we need a dc-dc converter to provide a constant regulated output voltage for such high-power system. Currently, many new converters were designed and implemented as per the requirement. This paper has made comparative study on several topologies of the quadratic high gain dc-dc converter and the applications where these topologies can be used when the fuel cell is given as a source. Also, we have compared various parameters of all the converters considered and generated the results with steady-state and dynamic study. In this article, we briefed the types of analysis carried on the dc-dc converter to study its performance. Moreover, various application of fuel cell is presented and discussed. This paper will be a handbook to the researchers who start to work on high gain dc-dc converter topologies with quadratic boost converter as a base. This article will also guide the engineers to concentrate on the fuel cell components where it needs to be explored for optimizing its operation.

A new technique to determine fusion barrier heights using proximity potentials

We develop a new technique to calculate fusion barrier heights of any fixed target reaction series. We calculate the barrier heights for the fusion reactions of 119Sn and 197Au targets using this technique. This technique is simple and very useful for estimating the fusion barrier heights for those reactions for which empirical values are not available. A formula is derived by performing theoretical calculations using different versions of proximity potential. Using this formula, we can predict the barrier height for the fusion reaction of any projectile with 119Sn or 197Au target using the empirical barrier height for the fusion reaction of same projectile with 62Ni target. In order to check the accuracy of this technique, the fusion parameters calculated by this new technique are compared with the fusion parameters calculated by using parameterized formulae presented in a systematic study conducted by using double folding model

A new technique to determine fusion barrier heights using proximity potentials

We develop a new technique to calculate fusion barrier heights of any fixed target reaction series. We calculate the barrier heights for the fusion reactions of 119Sn and 197Au targets using this technique. This technique is simple and very useful for estimating the fusion barrier heights for those reactions for which empirical values are not available. A formula is derived by performing theoretical calculations using different versions of proximity potential. Using this formula, we can predict the barrier height for the fusion reaction of any projectile with 119Sn or 197Au target using the empirical barrier height for the fusion reaction of same projectile with 62Ni target. In order to check the accuracy of this technique, the fusion parameters calculated by this new technique are compared with the fusion parameters calculated by using parameterized formulae presented in a systematic study conducted by using double folding model

Conformational Ensembles of α-Synuclein Derived Peptide with Different Osmolytes from Temperature Replica Exchange Sampling

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDP) are a class of proteins that do not have a stable three-dimensional structure and can adopt a range of conformations playing various vital functional role. Alpha-synuclein is one such IDP which can aggregate into toxic protofibrils and has been associated largely with Parkinson's disease (PD) along with other neurodegenerative diseases. Osmolytes are small organic compounds that can alter the environment around the proteins by acting as denaturants or protectants for the proteins. In the present study, we have conducted a series of replica exchange molecular dynamics simulations to explore the role of osmolytes, urea which is a denaturant and TMAO (trimethylamine N-oxide), a protecting osmolyte, in aggregation and conformations of the synuclein peptide. We observed that both the osmolytes have significantly distinct impacts on the peptide and led to transitions of the conformations of the peptide from one state to other. Our findings highlighted that urea attenuated peptide aggregation and resulted in the formation of extended peptide structures whereas TMAO led to compact and folded forms of the peptide