Anti diabetic effect of ethanolic extract of leaves of Ocimum sanctum in alloxan induced diabetes in rats

Background: Diabetes mellitus refers to a group of common metabolic disorders that share the phenotype of hyperglycemia resulting from defects of reduced insulin secretion, decreased glucose utilization and increase in glucose production. It is estimated that there are currently 285 million people worldwide and this number is set to increase to 438 million by the year 2030. India has the highest number of patients with known diabetes worldwide, with a prevalence of 11.6%. The aim of the study was to evaluate the anti diabetic activity of ethanolic extract of leaves of plant Ocimum sanctum in alloxan induced diabetes in rats.Methods: The study was conducted on 4 groups of 6 rats each to evaluate the hypoglycaemic effect of ethanolic extract of Ocimum sanctum. Glibenclamide was used as a standard drug and the results were compared in reference to it. Tween 80 was given for both normal and diabetic control groups. The fasting blood sugar levels were recorded on 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 10th days by glucometer.Results: The results indicate that the test compound ethanolic extract of Ocimum sanctum has significant and sustained oral hypoglycaemic activity, comparable with the hypoglycaemic effect of glibenclamide, a sulfonylurea.Conclusion: The hypoglycaemic potential of the test compound is found to be comparable with that of the standard drug glibenclamide

Epidemiology and risk factors of chronic kidney disease in India – results from the SEEK (Screening and Early Evaluation of Kidney Disease) study

Background: There is a rising incidence of chronic kidney disease that is likely to pose major problems for both healthcare and the economy in future years. In India, it has been recently estimated that the age-adjusted incidence rate of ESRD to be 229 per million population (pmp), and >100,000 new patients enter renal replacement programs annually. Methods: We cross-sectionally screened 6120 Indian subjects from 13 academic and private medical centers all over India. We obtained personal and medical history data through a specifically designed questionnaire. Blood and urine samples were collected. Results: The total cohort included in this analysis is 5588 subjects. The mean ± SD age of all participants was 45.22 ± 15.2 years (range 18–98 years) and 55.1% of them were males and 44.9% were females. The overall prevalence of CKD in the SEEK-India cohort was 17.2% with a mean eGFR of 84.27 ± 76.46 versus 116.94 ± 44.65 mL/min/1.73 m2 in non-CKD group while 79.5% in the CKD group had proteinuria. Prevalence of CKD stages 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 was 7%, 4.3%, 4.3%, 0.8% and 0.8%, respectively. Conclusion: The prevalence of CKD was observed to be 17.2% with ~6% have CKD stage 3 or worse. CKD risk factors were similar to those reported in earlier studies. It should be stressed to all primary care physicians taking care of hypertensive and diabetic patients to screen for early kidney damage. Early intervention may retard the progression of kidney disease. Planning for the preventive health policies and allocation of more resources for the treatment of CKD/ESRD patients are imperative in India

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

ASSAY METHOD DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION FOR SIMULTANEOUS QUANTITATIVE ESTIMATION OF DILOXANIDE FUROATE AND ORNIDAZOLE IN TABLETS BY RP-HPLC

Objective: To develop an accurate, precise and linear Reverse Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatographic (RP-HPLC) method for simultaneous quantitative estimation of Diloxanide furoate and Ornidazole in tablets and validate as per ICH guidelines.Methods: The optimized method uses a reverse phase column, Waters Symmetry C18 (250 X 4.6 mm; 5μ), a mobile phase of tri ethyl ammonium phosphate buffer (pH 2.3):acetonitrile in the proportion of 40:60 v/v, flow rate of 1.0 ml/min and a detection wavelength of 270 nm using a UV detector.Results: The developed method resulted in Diloxanide furoate eluting at 4.31 min and Ornidazole at 2.64 min. Diloxanide furoate exhibited linearity in the range 46.87-140.62μg/ml, while Ornidazole exhibited linearity in the range 31.25-93.75μg/ml. The precision is exemplified by relative standard deviations of 1.02% for Diloxanide furoate and 0.514% for Ornidazole. Percentage Mean recoveries were found to be in the range of 98â€102, during accuracy studies. The limit of detection (LOD) for Diloxanide furoate and Ornidazole were found to be 122.54µg/ml and 81.54µg/ml respectively, while limit of quantitiation (LOQ) for Diloxanide furoate and Ornidazole were found to be 371.33µg/ml and 247.11µg/ml respectively.Conclusion: A simple, accurate, precise, linear and rapid RP-HPLC method was developed for simultaneous quantitative estimation of Diloxanide furoate and Ornidazole in tablets and validated as per ICH guidelines. Hence it can be used for the routine analysis of Diloxanide furoate and Ornidazole in tablets in various pharmaceutical industries.Â

Low-cost Accelerometers for Robotic Manipulator Perception

Abstract — We present a series of experiments which explore the use of consumer-grade accelerometers as joint position sensors for robotic manipulators. We show that 6- and 7-dof joint angle estimation is possible by using one 3-d accelerometer for each pair of joints. We demonstrate two calibration approaches and experimental results using accelerometer-based control in both position-control and torque-control regimes. We present a manipulator design combining accelerometer-based sensing with low-cost actuation, and conclude by demonstrating the utility of consumer-grade accelerometers even on high-precision manipulators. I

Study on defluoridation of drinking water using zirconium ion impregnated activated charcoals

350-354Activated charcoals which are effective for fluoride removal, when impregnated with zirconium metal ions have an increase in their fluoride adsorption capacity by 3 to 5 times to that of plain activated charcoal. Continuous down flow adsorption mode at room temperature was adopted to defluoridate drinking water. Three columns were prepared by the impregnation of ZrOCl₂ in groundnut shell, coconut shell and coconut fiber activated charcoals. The column was run at a constant rate of 0.6-0.7 L/h with known fluoride influent water and a constant level of water was maintained. Treated water samples were analysed by the ion selective electrode method. In this study zirconium ion impregnated coconut fiber charcoal (ZICFC) showed maximum fluoride uptake and proved to be the most effective defluoridating agent followed by groundnut shell and coconut shell charcoals. ZICFC was effective for 21 liter lots of (8.0 mg F- ion/L) test solution and 6 liter lots of (2.47 mg F ion/L) tap water, where the fluoride concentration in each of these liter lots is less than 1.5 mg/L

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Not AvailableCultivation of the castor crop is hindered by various factors and one of the approaches for genetic improvement of the crop is through exploitation of biotechnological tools. Response of castor tissues to in vitro culture is poor which necessitated this study on understanding the molecular basis of organogenesis in cultured tissues of castor, through de novo transcriptome analysis and by comparing with jatropha and sunflower having good regeneration ability. Transcriptome profiling analysis was carried out with hypocotyl explants from castor, jatropha and cotyledons from sunflower cultured on MS media supplemented with different concentrations of hormones. Differentially expressed genes during dedifferentiation and organogenic differentiation stages of callus included components of auxin and cytokinin signaling, secondary metabolite synthesis, genes encoding transcription factors, receptor kinases and protein kinases. In castor, many genes involved in auxin biosynthesis and homeostasis like WAT1, vacuolar transporter genes, transcription factors like short root like protein were down-regulated while genes like DELLA were up-regulated accounting for regeneration recalcitrance. Validation of 62 DEGs through qRTPCR showed a consensus of 77.4% of the genes expressed. Overall study provides set of genes involved in the process of organogenesis in three oilseed crops which forms a basis for understanding and improving the efficiency of plant regeneration and genetic transformation in castor.Not Availabl