THE IMPACT OF ECONOMIC REFORMS ON INDIAN MANUFACTURERS : EVIDENCE FROM A SMALL SAMPLE SURVEY

Although there has been much theorising on the impact of Indias economic reforms of 1991 on Indian manufacturers, there is hardly any previous study that has taken up the task of actually asking the manufacturing firms as to what the true impact of economic reforms has been on them. In this paper, we report the findings of a small sample survey of manufacturing enterprises in the Delhi region regarding perceptions of the impact of economic reforms of 1990s. Most firms felt that the reforms were helpful by increasing access to foreign technology and making imports of capital and intermediate goods cheaper. They also felt that improvement in infrastructure and more flexible labour laws will facilitate further growth of Indias manufacturing sector.MANUFACTURERS, India, survey, economic reform, labour law, import, capital goods

Mechanics and physics of HIV virus interaction with cell membranes

A key step in the HIV infection process is the fusion of the virion membrane with the target cell membrane and the concomitant transfer of the viral RNA. Experimental evidence appears to suggest that the fusion is preceded by considerable elastic softening and thinning of the cell membranes and the formation of well-defined pores. What are the precise mechanisms underpinning the elastic softening of the membrane upon peptide insertion? A clear understanding of this could potentially pave the way for intelligent drug design to combat the epidemic caused by this deadly virus. State-of-the-art experiments to understand the HIV peptide insertion with T-cell membranes have been conducted recently. Using diffuse X-ray scattering, they deduced the bending modulus of the membranes upon HIV fusion peptide addition. Depending on the type of membrane, they found that the bending modulus (i.e., the property which dictates how resistant a membrane is to mechanical bending) can reduce between 3 and 13 times. This enormous mechanical softening greatly facilitates the subsequent fusion and infection process. Although the experimental findings are quite interesting, very little atomistic insights were gleaned. In short, modeling or simulations are necessary to interpret the aforementioned experiments and then provide guidelines for computationally driven rationale drug design. Predicated on the hypothesis that understanding, at the atomistic level, the membrane softening due to HIV peptide insertion will enable countermeasures, we have conducted large-scale molecular dynamics simulations on the interaction between HIV fusion peptide and cell membrane. Such simulations require modeling millions of atoms that interact with each through a complicated set of forces. The dynamics of such an ensemble was then studied and interpreted. For example, although the experiments were able to measure the overall reduction in bending modulus of the membrane – upon interaction with the HIV peptide – the key physics lies in what is happening locally at the peptide–membrane insertion interface. What exactly happens there that causes an overall softening of the membrane? In principle, insertion of rigid proteins or peptide in membranes ought to stiffen the membrane not soften it thus rendering the experimental observations even more perplexing. To this end, we have devised a numerical “experiment” which involves (computationally) sticking a needle into the membrane region of interest. Through derived theoretical formulae, and observation of the response of the atoms in the simulation when subject to the needle probe, we estimated the elastic behavior of a small and local patch of the membrane as opposed to the entire membrane itself. This, and the direct observation of the atomic behavior, allowed us to understand precisely what occurs at the peptide–membrane interface

DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF STABILITY INDICATING ASSAY FOR GRISEOFULVIN BY RP-HPLC IN TABLET DOSAGE FORM

Objective: To development and validation of a stability indicating reverse phase HPLC (RP-HPLC) method for the analysis of griseofulvin, an antifungal drug, and its assay method, in tablet dosage forms.Methods: The proposed RP-HPLC method utilizes Shiseido C18, 250 mm × 4.6 mm i.d., 5μ column (at ambient temperature), isocratic run [using Methanol and Water (70:30) as mobile phase], at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/minute, and UV detection at 291 nm for analysis of griseofulvin. This method was selected after applying different chromatographic conditions, the chromatographic variables like flow rate, the composition of mobile phase and nature of stationary phase were studied.Results: The reported method is linear over the range of 0.1-1.2μg/ml with a coefficient of correlation (r2) value 0.9998, slope 274.9 and intercepts 19093. The precision study revealed that the percentage relative standard deviation was within the acceptable limit and the mean recovery was found to be between 98%-102%. Griseofulvin was exposed to acidic, alkaline, oxidative, thermal and photolytic stress conditions and the sample was taken at different time intervals. The stressed samples were analyzed by the proposed method. The proposed method can be used for routine analysis stability testing and assay of griseofulvin in quality control laboratories.Conclusion: An economical, accurate, sensitive and precise HPLC method with ultraviolet detection was developed and fully validated for quality control analysis of griseofulvin in tablets. The proposed method is very rapid, where the total analytical run time is 5.16 minute.Keywords: RP-HPLC, Method validation, Griseofulvin, Estimatio

Water Use Efficiency and Evapotranspiration of Hybrid Napier (\u3cem\u3ePennisetum purpureum\u3c/em\u3e x \u3cem\u3eP. americanum\u3c/em\u3e) under Semi-Arid Indian Region

Napier bajra hybrid (Pennisetum glaucum x P. purpureum) is a highly valued for its abundant quality forage, round the year fodder availability, regenerative ability and suitability to silage and hay making. It yields upto 110-120 t/ha fresh fodder as sole crop. Though, it requires moist regimes for optimum growth, but it can withstand drought for a short spell and regenerate with rains. It contains 8.7-10.2 % crude protein, 28-30.5% crude fibre and 10-11.5 % ash on dry matter basis (Agrawal et al., 2001). The hybrid napier has wider adaptability and is grown all over the country, particularly in milk shed area of Gujrat, Maharashtra and north and central India. Estimation of evapotranspiration (ET) as a function of crop stages is important in determining crop water use for efficient irrigation management. Evapotranspiration loss and the rate of evapotranspiration at different cutting stages indicate the amount of water required at different growth periods for its satisfactory growth and optimum production. Few results in measurement of evapotranspiration and water use efficiency of fodder crops are available (Alvarez and Quiroga, 1992; Pradeep Behari et al., 2003). The water stress in the plant can be quantified by actual evapotranspiration rate, as the level of evapotranspiration is related to the evaporative demand of the air (Doorenbos and Kassam, 1979). However, the information on these aspects for hybrid napier is lacking. In present study we estimate, the water use efficiency and evapotranspiration of the hybrid napier in central India

Effect of surgical trauma on serum magnesium levels in the early postoperative period

Background: For proper functioning of energy system in the body, magnesium is essential. Deficiency of magnesium leads to hyperactivity of central nervous system and neuromuscular system. During surgery or before surgery or after surgery there can be alterations in the volume of fluid and composition of electrolytes. Objective was to study the effect of surgical trauma on serum magnesium levels in the early postoperative period.Methods: The present hospital based cross sectional study was carried out for a period of one year among 35 cases of surgical stress and 10 normal as control. Institutional ethics committee permission was taken prior to the start of the study. Individual informed consent was noted from each individual patient from both cases and controls. Data was recorded in the pre-designed pre-tested semi structured questionnaire for the present study. Serum magnesium level was assessed in both the groups and compared.Results: It was found that the preoperative magnesium levels were more as compared to postoperative levels among both the types of stress groups but the difference was not found to be statistically significant (p > 0.05). Among the mild to moderate stress groups, it was found that the preoperative magnesium levels were more as compared to postoperative levels among all the age groups but the difference was not found to be statistically significant (p > 0.05). Among the severe stress groups, it was found that the preoperative magnesium levels were more as compared to postoperative levels among all the age groups but the difference was not found to be statistically significant (p > 0.05).Conclusions: Occurrence of postoperative hypomagnesaemia plays a minor role in normal surgical convalescence