Is gene therapy a good therapeutic approach for HIV-positive patients?

Despite advances and options available in gene therapy for HIV-1 infection, its application in the clinical setting has been challenging. Although published data from HIV-1 clinical trials show safety and proof of principle for gene therapy, positive clinical outcomes for infected patients have yet to be demonstrated. The cause for this slow progress may arise from the fact that HIV is a complex multi-organ system infection. There is uncertainty regarding the types of cells to target by gene therapy and there are issues regarding insufficient transduction of cells and long-term expression. This paper discusses state-of-the-art molecular approaches against HIV-1 and the application of these treatments in current and ongoing clinical trials

ROSUVASTATIN CALCIUM LOADED CHITOSAN NANOPARTICLES: PREPARATION EVALUATION AND IN VITRO RELEASE STUDIES

Objective: The objective of the present study was to develop sustained release biodegradable polymeric nanoparticles of rosuvastatin calcium. Methods: Nanoparticles were prepared by modified ionotropic gelation method using 3² full factorial designs. From the preliminary trials, the constraints for independent variables X1 (concentration. of chitosan) and X2 (concentration. of sodium tripolyphosphate) have been fixed. Factors included concentration of chitosan and sodium tripolyphosphate, have been examined to investigate effect on particle size, encapsulation efficiency, zeta potential, % release, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transfer infrared study and X-ray diffraction and release study of rosuvastatin calcium nanoparticles. 0 Results: The prepared nanoparticles were white, free-flowing and spherical in shape. The infrared spectra showed stable character of rosuvastatin calcium in the drug-loaded nanoparticles and revealed the absence of drug polymer interactions. The chitosan nanoparticles have a particle diameter ranging approximately 114.5±3.61 to 724±.2.51 nm and a zeta potential-13.12 to-52.63 mV. The in vitro release behavior from all the drug loaded batches were found to follow first order and provided sustained release over a period of 10 h. The Zeta potential of all the batches were in the range of-13.12 to-52.63 mv. The release profiles of all batches were very well fitted by Korsmeyer Peppas model. Conclusion: The best-fit release kinetics was achieved with Korsmeyer peppas model. The release of rosuvastatin calcium was influenced by the drug to polymer ratio and particle size. These results indicate that rosuvastatin calcium nanoparticles could be effective in sustaining drug release for a prolonged period

Stochastic pump of interacting particles

We consider the overdamped motion of Brownian particles, interacting via particle exclusion, in an external potential that varies with time and space. We show that periodic potentials that maintain specific position-dependent phase relations generate time-averaged directed current of particles. We obtain analytic results for a lattice version of the model using a recently developed perturbative approach. Many interesting features like particle-hole symmetry, current reversal with changing density, and system-size dependence of current are obtained. We propose possible experiments to test our predictions.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Guiding Health Care Policy through Applied Public Health Modeling and Simulation

The risk of a widespread epidemic is a primary public health concern with implications for healthcare providers and organizations. Modeling and simulation techniques have been successfully applied at the national level to set governmental polices and mitigation strategies through simulation-based predictions. Existing research in this field has been non-uniform in its coverage of local systems and region-specific findings. New collaborations between on the ground providers and modeling groups are required for successful simulation-based experimentation of region-specific health systems. These proposed collaborations are expected to contribute high-quality sub-population datasets to be used in experiments at the national level and allow for the reuse of existing disease models and simulation infrastructure in support of regional predictive experimentation

EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF THE WELD STRENGTH IN FRICTION STIR WELDING (FSW) OF DIFFERENT GRADES OF ALUMINUM ALLOY USING DIFFERENT TOOL GEOMETRY

ABSTRACT This research deals with the determination of the weld strength of the aluminum alloy of different grades in friction stir welding (FSW). The different grades of the plates are welded by the different tool geometry namely as cylindrical tool and the tapered threaded tool. During the welding the rotational speed of tool and feed rate of the tool are kept constant. Testing of the specimens is carried out by ASME -SEC-IX and the weld strengths are compared.As a result it is found that the threaded tool geometry gives the better weld strength and also the surface finish

Documentation of Wild Edible Plants of Melghat Forest, Dist. Amravati, Maharashtra State, India

An ethnobotanical survey with respect to food plants showed that tribals depend much upon forest products for their various daily needs. Wild edible plants play a significant role in the sustenance of rural life in Melghat. The paper deals with documentation of 42 plant species belonging to 23 families consumed by the tribal and other locals of Melghat area, Dist. Amravati, Maharashtra, India. Plant name, Family, along with their part used, and method of preparation is discussed