Antiulcer activity of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Ocimum sanctum leaves in albino rats

Background: Peptic ulcer is one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders and a major cause of morbidity. The incidence and prevalence of peptic ulcer has been increasing worldwide. Persisting peptic ulcer leads to complications like gastrointestinal bleeding, gastric perforation and pyloric obstruction. The complications further increase the morbidity and mortality. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the antiulcer activity of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Ocimum sanctum leaves in albino rats.Methods: 48 apparently healthy wistar albino rats of either sex weighing about 150-200 grams were divided randomly into 12 groups (n=4). All the drugs were given as pre-treatment, per oral daily for 3 days. Test drugs, aqueous leaf extract (100 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg) and ethanolic leaf extract (50 mg/kg, 100 mg/kg) in 1% carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) were administered. Pyloric ligation and cold restrain stress were used as experimental models in the study. Parameters like free acid, gastric volume and ulcer index were observed.Results: All the test drugs significantly reduced the free acid, gastric volume and ulcer index in pyloric ligation model. 100 mg/kg of aqueous leaf extract failed to decrease the ulcer index in cold restrain stress, but other doses of test drugs reduced the ulcer index.Conclusions: Both the doses of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Ocimum sanctum leaves exhibited significant antiulcer activity in pyloric ligation model, whereas only 200 mg/kg of aqueous leaf extract was effective in cold restrain stress model

Parallel Search with no Coordination

We consider a parallel version of a classical Bayesian search problem. $k$ agents are looking for a treasure that is placed in one of the boxes indexed by $\mathbb{N}^+$ according to a known distribution $p$. The aim is to minimize the expected time until the first agent finds it. Searchers run in parallel where at each time step each searcher can "peek" into a box. A basic family of algorithms which are inherently robust is \emph{non-coordinating} algorithms. Such algorithms act independently at each searcher, differing only by their probabilistic choices. We are interested in the price incurred by employing such algorithms when compared with the case of full coordination. We first show that there exists a non-coordination algorithm, that knowing only the relative likelihood of boxes according to $p$, has expected running time of at most $10+4(1+\frac{1}{k})^2 T$, where $T$ is the expected running time of the best fully coordinated algorithm. This result is obtained by applying a refined version of the main algorithm suggested by Fraigniaud, Korman and Rodeh in STOC'16, which was designed for the context of linear parallel search.We then describe an optimal non-coordinating algorithm for the case where the distribution $p$ is known. The running time of this algorithm is difficult to analyse in general, but we calculate it for several examples. In the case where $p$ is uniform over a finite set of boxes, then the algorithm just checks boxes uniformly at random among all non-checked boxes and is essentially $2$ times worse than the coordinating algorithm.We also show simple algorithms for Pareto distributions over $M$ boxes. That is, in the case where $p(x) \sim 1/x^b$ for $0< b < 1$, we suggest the following algorithm: at step $t$ choose uniformly from the boxes unchecked in ${1, . . . ,min(M, \lfloor t/\sigma\rfloor)}$, where $\sigma = b/(b + k - 1)$. It turns out this algorithm is asymptotically optimal, and runs about $2+b$ times worse than the case of full coordination

Frequency doubling in the cyanobacterial circadian clock

Organisms use circadian clocks to generate 24-h rhythms in gene expression. However, the clock can interact with other pathways to generate shorter period oscillations. It remains unclear how these different frequencies are generated. Here, we examine this problem by studying the coupling of the clock to the alternative sigma factor $\textit{sigC}$ in the cyanobacterium $\textit{Synechococcus elongatus}$. Using single-cell microscopy, we find that $\textit{psbAI}$, a key photosynthesis gene regulated by both $\textit{sigC}$ and the clock, is activated with two peaks of gene expression every circadian cycle under constant low light. This two-peak oscillation is dependent on $\textit{sigC}$, without which $\textit{psbAI}$ rhythms revert to one oscillatory peak per day. We also observe two circadian peaks of elongation rate, which are dependent on $\textit{sigC}$, suggesting a role for the frequency doubling in modulating growth. We propose that the two-peak rhythm in $\textit{psbAI}$ expression is generated by an incoherent feedforward loop between the clock, $\textit{sigC}$ and $\textit{psbAI}$. Modelling and experiments suggest that this could be a general network motif to allow frequency doubling of outputs.This research was made possible by the award of a European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007-2013)/ERC Grant Agreement 338060. The work in the Locke laboratory is further supported by a fellowship from the Gatsby Foundation (GAT3272/GLC) and a Fellowship from the Human Frontier Science Program (CDA00068/2012)

Microstructural modification of Sn–Bi and Sn–Bi–Al immiscible alloys by shearing

Sn–20 wt-%Bi and immiscible Sn–20 wt-%Bi–1 wt-%Al alloys were used to understand the effect of high-intensity shearing on microstructural refinement. Novel ACME (Axial Centrifugal Metal Expeller) shearing device, based on axial compressor and rotor–stator mechanism to generate high shear rate and intense turbulence, was used to condition the melts prior to solidification. Microstructure in the Sn–Bi alloy deviated from dendritic grains with coarse eutectic pockets under conventional solidification to compact grains with well-dispersed eutectic under semisolid-state shearing. Decreasing the shearing temperature and increasing shearing time increased the globularity of grains. Following shearing, remnant liquid solidified into fine grain structure. In the immiscible Sn–Bi–Al alloy, shearing produced uniform dispersion of refined Al-rich particles in Sn-rich matrix as opposed to severe segregation under conventional solidification. The primary effect of shearing appears to originate from the thermo-solutal homogenisation of the melt and its effect on interface stability during solidification

Programa GESAC: governo eletrônico - serviço de atendimento ao cidadão

O Programa Governo Eletrônico – Serviço de Atendimento ao Cidadão Gesac tem como principal objetivo promover a inclusão digital como alavanca para o desenvolvimento social auto-sustentável e promoção de cidadania. O Programa disponibiliza serviços avançados de inclusão digital para setores da sociedade que hoje estão excluídos do acesso e dos serviços vinculados à rede mundial de computadoresNúmero de páginas: 4 p.InovaçãoIniciativa premiada no 9º Concurso Inovação na Gestão Pública Federal sob responsabilidade de Antônio Bezerra de Albuquerque Neto, Diretor do Departamento de Inclusão DigitalAções premiadas no 9º Concurso Inovação na Gestão Pública Federal - 2004Áreas temáticas: atendimento ao cidadão e inclusão digital; atendimento ao cidadã

Adenoma of the nonpigmented ciliary epithelium presenting with recurrent iridocyclitis: unique expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein

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Rubisco-bis-phosphate oxygenase (RuBP)- A potential housekeeping gene for qPCR assays in tea

The present experiment is an effort to find a stable reference gene in Camellia sinensis and Camellia assamica under different biotic and abiotic stresses. This study evaluate the variation in gene expression across tea leaf tissues in nine experiments. The suitability of 18S rRNA, 26S rRNA, rubiscobis- phosphatase oxygenase (RuBP) and Camellia tubulin (CaT) as reference genes were validated by geNorm and BestKeeper programs. The finding reveals 18S rRNA and RuBP to be the most stably expressed housekeeping genes, the latter being the first report of its kind in tea. The finding paves the way for their application in accurate quantification of trait specific gene expression and other genomic studies in tea.Keywords: Camellia sinensis, Camellia assamica, qPCR, BestKeeper, geNorm, housekeeping gen

Implantação do pré-atendimento na agência dos correios Adolfina de Pinheiros em São Paulo

A experiência da Diretoria Regional de São Paulo Metropolitana dos Correios objetiva implementar melhoria em um dos seus principais processos: o atendimento nas agências. Dentro do contexto de gestão pela qualidade total, destacamos o programa de gerência da rotina e gerenciamento de melhorias (revisão de processos), cujas ferramentas nortearam o nosso projeto. Nas agências, em decorrência dos diversos produtos e serviços que a ECT comercializa, faz-se necessária a gestão das filas para que o tempo de espera excessivo não ocasione a insatisfação dos clientes. Com a implantação do pré-atendimento em guichê específico, na agência Adolfina de Pinheiros, houve uma redução significativa do tempo de espera na fila, servindo como modelo para implantação em outras agências dos Correios. Além de atender à necessidade do cliente, estabelecida na matriz do QFD (Desdobramento da Função Qualidade) do sistema de gestão da qualidade da ECT, o projeto objetiva tornar a rotina de trabalho dos atendentes de guichê mais fácil, racional e produtivaNúmero de páginas: 5 p.InovaçãoIniciativa premiada no 11º Concurso Inovação na Gestão Pública Federal sob responsabilidade de Lenice Venâncio Dias. Ações premiadas no 11º Concurso Inovação na Gestão Pública Federal – 2006. Áreas temáticas: atendimento ao usuário; atendimento ao cidadã

Caixas receptoras de correspondências confeccionadas com material reciclável

Os Correios têm como missão facilitar as relações pessoais e empresariais mediante a oferta de serviços de correios com ética, competitividade, lucratividade e responsabilidade social. Fundamentada em objetivos estratégicos, como o de obter padrões de qualidade e produtividade requeridos pelas partes interessadas e aumentar a percepção da sociedade em relação à atuação da ECT como empresa socialmente responsável, a Agência de Conchas/DR/SPI implantou ação socioambiental e educacional com a comunidade: a instalação de caixas receptoras de correspondência em suas residências, utilizando materiais recicláveis. O projeto proporcionou ganhos significativos para a Agência e para os munícipes na prestação de um serviço com maior qualidade e agilidade a partir da melhoria gradativa das condições de entrega nos novos bairros atendidos pelo serviço, além da satisfação e do reconhecimento da sociedade com a ação de inclusão socialNúmero de páginas: 07 p.InovaçãoIniciativa premiada no 12º Concurso Inovação na Gestão Pública Federal sob responsabilidade de Kátia Cilene de Oliveira. Ações premiadas no 12º Concurso Inovação na Gestão Pública Federal – 200