Complexes of Sn(IV) with Schiff Bases Derived from Salicylaldehyde/Acetylacetone & o-Aminophenol, o-Aminobenzothiol & o-Aminobenzoic Acid*

589-59

Extractive Spectrophotometric Determination of V(V) Using Salicylhydroxamic Acid

546-54

A Low-spin Mn(III) Complex

205-20

Combined Toxicity and Bioconcentration of Fluoride and Arsenic in African Catfish Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822)

Laboratory experiments were performed to examine the combined toxic effects of two important aquatic contaminants viz., arsenic and fluoride on African catfish, Clarias gariepinus. Additionally, the bio concentration factors (BCFs) of the two contaminants in tissues and blood of catfish were also determined. The LC50 for sodium fluoride and arsenic trioxide were determined to be 619.3 mg L-1, 30.3 mg L-1, respectively. Erratic swimming movements with hyperactivity, loss of equilibrium, augmented air gulping and decreased food consumption were observed in the experimental groups. In co-exposure groups of arsenic and fluoride, the concentration of fluoride in fish tissues increased with increasing water fluoride concentration in the test aquaria with significant differences (

Transport and Magnetic Properties of FexVse2 (x = 0 - 0.33)

We present our results of the effect of Fe intercalation on the structural, transport and magnetic properties of 1T-VSe2. Intercalation of iron, suppresses the 110K charge density wave (CDW) transition of the 1T-VSe2. For the higher concentration of iron, formation of a new kind of first order transition at 160K takes place, which go on stronger for the 33% Fe intercalation. Thermopower of the FexVSe2 compounds (x = 0 - 0.33), however do not show any anomaly around the transition. The intercalation of Fe does not trigger any magnetism in the weak paramagnetic 1T-VSe2, and Fe is the low spin state of Fe3+.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures, 2 table

Analysis of string-searching algorithms on biological sequence databases

String-searching algorithms are used to find the occurrences of a search string in a given text. The advent of digital computers has stimulated the development of string-searching algorithms for various applications. Here, we report the performance of all string-searching algorithms on widely used biological sequence databases containing the building blocks of nucleotides (in the case of nucleic acid sequence database) and amino acids (in the case of protein sequence database). The biological sequence databases used in the present study are Protein Information Resource (PIR), SWISSPROT, and amino acid and nucleotide sequences of all genomes available in the genome database. The average time taken for different search-string lengths considered for study has been taken as an indicator of performance for comparison between various methods

A prospective open-label randomized comparative study in Alzheimer’s disease between two commonly used drugs in coastal Indian population

Background: Currently, therapy for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is only symptomatic. Only two classes of drugs are approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration. Our study aimed at comparing efficacy and safety of memantine and donepezil in moderate to severe AD patients.Methods: Totally, 22 patients with moderate to severe AD were randomized into the 2 arms of the study. The study was divided into an initial 4 weeks for determination of onset of efficacy and subsequent 28 weeks of the treatment phase. Onset of efficacy and response was defined as >20% and >50% reduction in the mean total score of functional dementia scale (FDS) and clinical global impression scale (CGIS) from baseline to the study end, respectively.Results: Onset of efficacy on FDS and CGIS was 16.7% (mean-time 61.25 days) and 80% (mean-time 36 days) with memantine and donepezil, respectively. Response was 89.3% and 40% with memantine and Donepezil, respectively. Total reduction in FDS and CGIS score of from baseline to the study end was 39.50, 40.00, and 25.60, 27.20 with memantine and donepezil, respectively. Tolerability was 86.33% and 20% with memantine and donepezil, respectively. Anorexia, muscle cramps, constipation, headache, and insomnia, were the common side-effects and self-limiting. Safety was 100% in both groups.Conclusions: Onset of efficacy was faster with donepezil seen at 2 weeks. Response, improvement in CGIS, FDS, and tolerability were better seen with memantine at 40 weeks. Thus, in similar clinical settings, memantine can be preferred

Effect of size reduction on the ferromagnetism of the manganite La1-xCaxMnO3 (x = 0.33)

In this paper we report an investigation on the ferromagnetic state and the nature of ferromagnetic transition of nanoparticles of $\mathrm{La_{0.67}Ca_{0.33}MnO_3}$ using magnetic measurements and neutron diffraction. The investigation was made on nanoparticles with crystal size down to $15$ nm. The neutron data show that even down to a size of $15$ nm the nanoparticles show finite spontaneous magnetization ($M_S$) although the value is much reduced compared to the bulk sample. We observed a non-monotonic variation of the ferromagnetic to paramagnetic transition temperature $T_C$ with size $d$ and found that $T_C$ initially enhances on size reduction, but for $d < 50$ nm it decreases again. The initial enhancement in $T_C$ was related to an increase in the bandwidth that occured due to a compaction of the Mn-O bond length and a straightening of the Mn-O-Mn bond angle, as determined form the neutron data. The size reduction also changes the nature of the ferromagnetic to paramagnetic transition from first order to second order with critical exponents approaching mean field values. This was explained as arising from a truncation of the coherence length by the finite sample size.Comment: 12 figure

Enabling trade in Gene-Edited produce in Asia and Australasia: The developing regulatory landscape and future perspectives

Genome- or gene-editing (abbreviated here as ‘GEd’) presents great opportunities for crop improvement. This is especially so for the countries in the Asia-Pacific region, which is home to more than half of the world’s growing population. A brief description of the science of gene-editing is provided with examples of GEd products. For the benefits of GEd technologies to be realized, international policy and regulatory environments must be clarified, otherwise non-tariff trade barriers will result. The status of regulations that relate to GEd crop products in Asian countries and Australasia are described, together with relevant definitions and responsible regulatory bodies. The regulatory landscape is changing rapidly: in some countries, the regulations are clear, in others they are developing, and some countries have yet to develop appropriate policies. There is clearly a need for the harmonization or alignment of GEd regulations in the region: this will promote the path-to-market and enable the benefits of GEd technologies to reach the end-users