FORMULATION DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF CHRONOMODULATED DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM BY ZAFIRLUKAST

Objective: The main objective of the present study was to formulate and evaluate a time-controlled single-unit oral pulsatile drug delivery system containing Zafirlukast for the prevention of nocturnal asthma attacks. To provide time-scheduled drug release for Asthma disease. It is used for preventing asthmatic attacks at early morning. Pulsatile release dosage form is increasing patient compliance by reducing the dosing frequency, especially in the early morning. Methods: Core tablets were prepared by incorporating different concentrations of natural and synthetic super disintegrants. Drug-containing core tablets (ZC1-ZC15) with different compositions of natural super disintegrants (Plantago ovata seed powder, Locust bean gum) synthetic super disintegrants (Sodium starch glycolate (SSG), Cross carmellose sodium (CCS), Crospovidone (CP)) were prepared by direct compression technique. The core tablets were subjected to pre-formulation, physicochemical and In vitro drug release studies. The fast disintegrating core tablet formulation was selected and press-coated tablets (P1-P11) were prepared with different compositions of hydrophobic polymers Eudragit RS100, Eudragit RL 100, Ethylcellulose and hydrophilic polymers Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose K4M, K100M. The optimized formulation was selected and quantified based on in vitro drug release profile in simulated gastric and intestinal fluids. Results: The pre and post-compression parameters of tablets were also found to be within limits. Formulation ZC5 with 16 mg of Locust bean gum showed the least disintegrating time, i.e., 22.13 sec, and was selected as the best immediate release core tablet. The press-coated tablet formulation P8 having 62.5 mg Eudragit RS100 and 62.5 mg of HPMC K4M in ratio 1:1 over the core tablet ZC5 showed rapid and drug release nearly after 4 h lag time and 98.86 % up to 12 h. Accelerated stability studies of the optimized formulation P8 indicated no significant difference in release profile after 3 mo. Conclusion: The in vitro dissolution study showed that lag time before drug release was highly affected by the coating amount level and nature of coating polymer used. Time-controlled pulsatile release tablets can be prepared using press-coating techniques

Brahmi herbal drink mitigates aluminium chloride induced cognitive impairments

Aluminium chloride (AlCl3) is neurotoxic and has been proposed to be one of the environmental factors responsible for neurodegenerative disease like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disorders. It also causes learning and memory deficit. Bacopa monniera is well known for its memory enhancing property in traditional Indian system of medicine. In the present investigation we aim to evaluate cognitive-enhancing and neuromodulatory property of brahmi herbal drink (BHD), a nutraceutical product from Bacopa monniera extract. BHD was evaluated for physicochemical, sensory attributes and stability studies. Overall acceptability of BHD was good according to hedonic scale/ratings. Stability of the drink is for 6 months without losing its activity. Further, cognitive enhancing and neuromodulatory propensity of BHD was evaluated against AlCl3 treatment in rats. Administration of AlCl3 (100 mg/kg) daily for 23 days significantly increased cognitive impairment as evaluated in elevated plus maze (EPM) and Morris water maze (MWM) tests. BHD supplementation improved cognitive ability by decreasing the transfer and escape latency of EPM and MWM tests respectively. Our results further elucidate that BHD supplementation decreased acetylcholine esterase activity and nitric oxide levels by down-regulating AChE and iNOS expression respectively. BHD supplementation showed it neuroprotective efficacy by up-regulating BDNF expression. AlCl3 induced lipid peroxidation and reactive oxygen species generation was significantly alleviated by BHD and restored antioxidant status levels. All these results demonstrated the cognitive-enhancing and neuromodulatory potential of BHD in counteracting the damage inflicted by AlCl3 on rat brain

Mobile Phone Based Clinical Microscopy for Global Health Applications

Light microscopy provides a simple, cost-effective, and vital method for the diagnosis and screening of hematologic and infectious diseases. In many regions of the world, however, the required equipment is either unavailable or insufficiently portable, and operators may not possess adequate training to make full use of the images obtained. Counterintuitively, these same regions are often well served by mobile phone networks, suggesting the possibility of leveraging portable, camera-enabled mobile phones for diagnostic imaging and telemedicine. Toward this end we have built a mobile phone-mounted light microscope and demonstrated its potential for clinical use by imaging P. falciparum-infected and sickle red blood cells in brightfield and M. tuberculosis-infected sputum samples in fluorescence with LED excitation. In all cases resolution exceeded that necessary to detect blood cell and microorganism morphology, and with the tuberculosis samples we took further advantage of the digitized images to demonstrate automated bacillus counting via image analysis software. We expect such a telemedicine system for global healthcare via mobile phone – offering inexpensive brightfield and fluorescence microscopy integrated with automated image analysis – to provide an important tool for disease diagnosis and screening, particularly in the developing world and rural areas where laboratory facilities are scarce but mobile phone infrastructure is extensive

ANTIOXIDANT EFFECT OF VITAMINS COMBINED A, C, AND E DOSE ON TYPE 2 DIABETIC PATIENTS

Objectives: This study is to investigate the effect of oral Vitamins combined (A, C, and E) with metformin on the levels of fasting blood sugar (FBS), postprandial blood sugar (PPBS), hemoglobin (HbA1c), total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) in Type 2 diabetic patients. Methods: A total of 32 patients with Type 2 diabetes were divided randomly into A and B groups, i.e., 16 per each group. Group A received metformin only twice a day while Group B received one tablet of Antox and metformin twice a day for 3 months. FBS, PPBS, HbA1c, TC, TG, LDL, and HDL were measured before and after the dose, and the results were analyzed statistically. Results: A significant decreases in FBS, PPBS, HbA1c, TC, TG, and LDL whereas results showed increasing significance in HDL level that seen in the patients of Group B which received Antox and metformin compared to the group which received metformin only. In conclusion, the results indicate that daily consumption of supplementary vitamins with metformin leads to improving blood glucose and lipids in patients with Type 2 diabetes and reducing the risk of complications. Hence, the dose can be used combined Vitamins A, C, and E with metformin in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes by maintaining good glycemic control

Integrative management of Congestive Cardiac Failure (Hrudrog) with Ayurveda and Modern Medicine: A Case Report

Introduction: The prevalence and incidence of congestive heart failure (CCF) is increasing. There is no any published case report that shows the treatment of CCF through Ayurveda. This is case of CCF treated with Ayurveda. Clinical findings: A 68 years male patient came with complaints of dyspnoea on exertion, mild orthopnoea associated with chest pain, abdominal distension, and loss of appetite, constipation, bilateral pedal oedema, and dry cough since 1 year. Diagnosis: He was known case of CCF. In Ayurveda it can be correlated with Hrudroga. Intervention: Patient was treated on the basis of treatment principle of Hrudroga. Outcome: There is increase in left ventricular ejection fraction from 25% to 40% within 2 months. ECG was normal, complete relief in symptoms after 2 years course of treatment. Conclusion: This case report give direction to the treatment of CCF through Ayurveda. Hence the further research in this direction is warrante

Synthesis and insecticidal activity of organophosphorus compounds containing substituted s-triazole and fused ring heterocycles

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Early and efficient detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in sputum by microscopic observation of broth cultures.

Early, efficient and inexpensive methods for the detection of pulmonary tuberculosis are urgently needed for effective patient management as well as to interrupt transmission. These methods to detect M. tuberculosis in a timely and affordable way are not yet widely available in resource-limited settings. In a developing-country setting, we prospectively evaluated two methods for culturing and detecting M. tuberculosis in sputum. Sputum samples were cultured in liquid assay (micro broth culture) in microplate wells and growth was detected by microscopic observation, or in Löwenstein-Jensen (LJ) solid media where growth was detected by visual inspection for colonies. Sputum samples were collected from 321 tuberculosis (TB) suspects attending Bugando Medical Centre, in Mwanza, Tanzania, and were cultured in parallel. Pulmonary tuberculosis cases were diagnosed using the American Thoracic Society diagnostic standards. There were a total of 200 (62.3%) pulmonary tuberculosis cases. Liquid assay with microscopic detection detected a significantly higher proportion of cases than LJ solid culture: 89.0% (95% confidence interval [CI], 84.7% to 93.3%) versus 77.0% (95% CI, 71.2% to 82.8%) (p = 0.0007). The median turn around time to diagnose tuberculosis was significantly shorter for micro broth culture than for the LJ solid culture, 9 days (interquartile range [IQR] 7-13), versus 21 days (IQR 14-28) (p<0.0001). The cost for micro broth culture (labor inclusive) in our study was US $4.56 per sample, versus US$11.35 per sample for the LJ solid culture. The liquid assay (micro broth culture) is an early, feasible, and inexpensive method for detection of pulmonary tuberculosis in resource limited settings

4-(3-Carb­oxy-1-ethyl-6-fluoro-4-oxo-1,4-dihydro-7-quinol­yl)-1-methyl­piper­azin­ium picrate

The pefloxacinium cation of the title salt, C17H21FN3O3 +·C6H2N3O7 −, is composed of an essentially planar quinoline ring system [maximum deviation = 0.021 (2) Å] and a piperazine ring, which adopts a chair conformation. In the picrate anion, the two O atoms of one of the o-NO2 groups are disordered over two positions, with an occupancy ratio of 0.56 (4):0.44 (4). In the crystal structure, cations and anions are connected by inter­molecular N—H⋯O, O—H⋯O, C—H⋯O and C—H⋯F hydrogen bonds, forming a three-dimensional network. In addition, π–π inter­actions between the pyridine rings and between the benzene rings of the anions, with centroid–centroid distances of 3.6103 (12) and 3.5298 (11) Å, respectively, are observed

Fluoromycobacteriophages for rapid, specific, and sensitive antibiotic susceptibility testing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Rapid antibiotic susceptibility testing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is of paramount importance as multiple- and extensively- drug resistant strains of M. tuberculosis emerge and spread. We describe here a virus-based assay in which fluoromycobacteriophages are used to deliver a GFP or ZsYellow fluorescent marker gene to M. tuberculosis, which can then be monitored by fluorescent detection approaches including fluorescent microscopy and flow cytometry. Pre-clinical evaluations show that addition of either Rifampicin or Streptomycin at the time of phage addition obliterates fluorescence in susceptible cells but not in isogenic resistant bacteria enabling drug sensitivity determination in less than 24 hours. Detection requires no substrate addition, fewer than 100 cells can be identified, and resistant bacteria can be detected within mixed populations. Fluorescence withstands fixation by paraformaldehyde providing enhanced biosafety for testing MDR-TB and XDR-TB infections. © 2009 Piuri et al

Dynamics and Critical Behaviour of the q-model

The $q$-model, a random walk model rich in behaviour and applications, is investigated. We introduce and motivate the $q$-model via its application proposed by Coppersmith {\em et al.} to the flow of stress through granular matter at rest. For a special value of its parameters the $q$-model has a critical point that we analyse. To characterise the critical point we imagine that a uniform load has been applied to the top of the granular medium and we study the evolution with depth of fluctuations in the distribution of load. Close to the critical point explicit calculation reveals that the evolution of load exhibits scaling behaviour analogous to thermodynamic critical phenomena. The critical behaviour is remarkably tractable: the harvest of analytic results includes scaling functions that describe the evolution of the variance of the load distribution close to the critical point and of the entire load distribution right at the critical point, values of the associated critical exponents, and determination of the upper critical dimension. These results are of intrinsic interest as a tractable example of a random critical point. Of the many applications of the q-model, the critical behaviour is particularly relevant to network models of river basins, as we briefly discuss. Finally we discuss circumstances under which quantum network models that describe the surface electronic states of a quantum Hall multilayer can be mapped onto the classical $q$-model. For mesoscopic multilayers of finite circumference the mapping fails; instead a mapping to a ferromagnetic supersymmetric spin chain has proved fruitful. We discuss aspects of the superspin mapping and give a new elementary derivation of it making use of operator rather than functional methods.Comment: 34 pages, Revtex, typo correcte