POLYHERBAL PREPARATION AND COMPARATIVE STUDIES ON DIET-INDUCED HYPERLIPIDEMIA

Objective: The objective of this research article is to develop and evaluate polyherbal preparation and comparative studies on diet-induced hyperlipidemia. Methods: After the extraction, pharmacognostical and phytochemical screening was done. The lipid-lowering activity of polyherbal formulation (T1, T2, T3, T4, and T5) may be attributed to the phytoconstituents present such as alkaloids, carbohydrates, steroids, proteins, tannins, carbohydrates, flavonoids, phenols, glycosides, and triterpenes. In acute oral toxicity study, there were no behavioral changes seen up to 4 h and no mortality was observed up to the end of 24 h even at the maximum tested dose level of 2000 mg/kg per oral. It was considered maximum safe dose. Male and female albino rats weighing 150–200 g were used for the study. Hydroalcoholic extract of all plants was prepared having a dose of 2000 mg/kg. The doses were selected according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development guideline no. 425. The procedure was divided into two phases: Phase I (observation made on day 1) and Phase II (observed the animals for the next 14 days of drug administration). Animals received a single dose of 2000 mg/kg. After the administration of Healthcare Administration, food was withheld for 3–4 h. If the animal dies, conduct the main test to determine the LD50. The study was conducted by measuring various parameters, namely, daily feed intake (g), water intake (ml), body weight (g), lipid profile high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), CHL level (mg/dl), and blood glucose level (mg/dl). Results: Results showed a significant decrease in blood glucose level and serum lipid profile such as total cholesterol, LDL, and increasing serum HDL level, so could be useful in the treatment of hypolipidemia. Conclusion: Polyherbal formulations (T1, T2, T3, T4, and T5) have hypoglycemic activity and significantly improve lipid profile levels in diet-induced experimental rats

Hepatitis B genotypes and surface antigen mutants present in Pakistani blood donors.

The prevalence of chronic Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection is 2-4% in the Pakistani population, defining Pakistan as an intermediate prevalence country. In this study, hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) reactive blood donations were screened using a combination of serological and molecular methods to identify immune escape HBV mutant strains and to determine the HBV genotypes and subtypes present in Pakistan.Blood donations were collected at the Armed Forces Institute of Transfusion (AFIT) located in northern Pakistan and the Hussaini Blood Bank (HBB) located in the south. From 2009 to 2013 a total of 706,575 donations were screened with 2.04% (14,409) HBsAg reactive. A total of 2055 HBsAg reactive specimens, were collected and screened using a monoclonal antibody based research assay to identify immune escape mutants followed by PCR amplification and DNA sequencing to identify the mutation present. DNA sequences obtained from 192 specimens, including mutant candidates and wild type strains, were analyzed for escape mutations, genotype, and HBsAg subtype.Mutations were identified in approximately 14% of HBsAg reactive donations. Mutations at HBsAg amino acid positions 143-145 are the most common (46%) with the mutation serine 143 to leucine the most frequently occurring change (28%). While regional differences were observed, the most prevalent HBV strains are subgenotypes of D with subgenotype D1/subtype ayw2 accounting for the majority of infections; 90.2% at AFIT and 52.5% at HBB.The high frequency of immune escape HBV mutants in HBV infected Pakistani blood donors highlights the need for more studies into the prevalence of escape mutants. Differences between vaccinated and unvaccinated populations, the correlation of escape mutant frequency with genotype, and impact of escape mutations in different genotype backgrounds on the performance of commercially available HBsAg assays represent avenues for further investigation

Effect of Technology on Distance Learner Achievement: A Case Study of AIOU 258 LANGUAGE IN INDIA Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow Effect of Technology on Distance Learner Achievement: A Case Study of AIOU

Abstract The rapid growth of technologies has influenced the way in which education is delivered and experienced. In distance education, the use of technology is essential. Distance education is a powerful and growing force in education at the university level. The globalization of distance education provides many opportunities for the developing countries for the realization of their education system-wide goals. Two main factors have led to an explosion of interest in distance learning: the growing need for continual skills upgrading and retraining; and the technological advances that have made it possible to teach more and more subjects at a distance. The world of technology is being reshaped by global trends such as convergence, increased bandwidth, enhanced multimedia capabilities, miniaturization, environmental variations, increase mobility, enhanced processing power, more powerful cognitive tools and reduced cost. These trends support transition across four generations in distance education models and associated delivery technologies. Language in India www.languageinindia. This study aimed at the following: 1) To identify the access of technology for distance learner. 2) To explore the use of technology relating to the achievements of distance learner. 3) To identify the problems faced by distance learners in the use of technology. A sample of 60 students of M.Phil. and Ph.D. was taken. A questionnaire was used as a research tool for the collection of data. Collected data were analyzed by percentage, mean score and correlation. Main findings of the study revealed that use of technology enhances the quality of learning and improves the learning skill of the distance learner. Use of technology in education increases motivation and collaborative learning encourages competition. It was recommended that the distance course developer, instructor, or teacher should focus on designing online learning environments that support exploratory and dialogical learning. Exploratory and dialogical learning environments engage learners in learning activities that require collaboration, communication, social interaction, reflection, evaluation, and self-directed learning.

Biosorption of Copper by a Bacterial Biofilm on a Flexible Polyvinyl Chloride Conduit

Inexpensive technologies with less-than-optimal efficiencies as a strategy for countering economic restraints to pollution control have been evaluated by using a laboratory-scale biotreatment process for copper-containing effluent. Economizing measures include the use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) cylinders fashioned from commercially available flexible PVC conduit to support a biofilm that was cultured in an inexpensive medium prepared in wastewater. The biofilm was challenged by aqueous copper solution in a bioreactor and subsequently analyzed under a scanning electron microscope with energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis

Prevalence of HBV genotype/subtype in donor population.

<p>(A) shows the percent of each genotype/subtype obtained from 192 HBV DNA sequences; 74.5% (143 of 192) were genotype D1/subtype ayw2. (B) shows the number of each genotype/subtype identified in the AFIT donor population; 101 of 112 (90.2%) were genotype D1/subtype ayw2 and 7 other genotype/subtype strains were present at low levels. (C) shows the number of each genotype/subtype identified in the HBB donor population; 42 of 80 (52.5%) were genotype D1/subtype ayw2, 14 (17.5%) were D2/ayw3, 9 (11.3%) were A1/adw2 and 10 other genotype/subtype strains were present at low levels. In all charts, the order of data labels in the legend corresponds to the clockwise order of the pie slices starting from the top.</p

Representative results for the HBsAg mutant assay.

<p>S/N values for each specimen are plotted using MAb H53 and H166 values on the y-axis and MAb H57 values on the x-axis. MAb H53 values are shown by filled circles and MAb H166 are filled triangles; red indicates outlier data points identifying mutant candidate specimens, and gray and black indicate wild type data points.</p

Summary of HBsAg escape mutations.

<p>Summary of HBsAg escape mutations.</p

Histogram of mutation frequency.

<p>Shown is the frequency of mutations at each amino acid position within the HBsAg “a” determinant defined as sites of escape mutations by Geno2pheno v2.</p