Metabolic and molecular effects of edible oils on PPAR modulators in rabbit liver

Background: Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors are the receptors that switch-on DNA responding elements as heterodimers with nuclear retinoic acid. These are the transcription factors and belong to the family of nuclear receptors and key regulators for lipid and glucose metabolism.Methods: The study was designed to investigate the effect of edible oil on PPAR Alpha & Gamma expression on rabbit liver.Results: Reduced Glutathione (GSH) activity showed a significant increase and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity showed a significant decrease in batch II and batch III in comparison to control group was observed. Out of the total 3 batches, an increase was significantly increased in batch III (160%) in comparison to batch II (151%).  Inedible oil-treated Batches, PPAR α, and PPAR γ levels were found to decrease significantly for the control batch. The decrease in PPAR alpha levels in batch II and batch III was 1.7 and 2.2 fold with p<0.01. In the case of PPAR gamma, the corresponding values increased by 1.6 and 2.4 fold respectively with p<0.01.Conclusion: The study demonstrated that edible oil supplementation significantly increases mRNA levels up to two-fold in comparison to the control batch.    Keywords: PPARα; PPARγ; Edible oil; Reduced glutathione; Glutathione peroxidase

The Sivaganga eye survey: I. Blindness and cataract surgery.

PURPOSE: To assess the prevalence of visual acuity impairment, blindness, and cataract surgery among older adults in rural southern India. METHODS: Random selection of village- and urban-based clusters was used to identify a cross-sectional sample of persons 50 years of age or older from the Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu. Subjects in 25 selected clusters were enumerated through a door-to-door survey and invited to examination sites for measurement of uncorrected, presenting, and best-corrected visual acuity and ocular examination in 1999. The principal cause was identified for eyes with presenting visual acuity worse than 6/18. Quality assurance monitoring of visual acuity measurements took place in five of the study clusters. RESULTS: A total of 5081 persons in 3517 households were enumerated, and 4642 (91.4%) were examined. Thirty-six percent presented with visual acuity worse than 6/18 in the better eye. The prevalence of blindness, based on visual acuity worse than 6/60 in both eyes, was 6.0% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 5.1% to 6.9%) with presenting vision, and 2.5% (95% CI: 1.8% to 3.1%) with best correction. Blindness with presenting visual acuity was associated with older age and illiteracy. Cataract was the principal cause of blindness in one or both eyes in 69.4% of those presenting blind, and uncorrected aphakia and other refractive error affected 35.6% in at least one eye. The prevalence of cataract surgery was 14.7% (95% CI: 13.0% to 16.4%); low surgical coverage among the cataract blind was associated with illiteracy. CONCLUSIONS: It appears that much has been done in the prevention of blindness in Sivaganga. Nevertheless, blindness remains an important public health problem, mainly because of cataract and refractive error. Prevention of blindness programs in the area should target these two causes, with special emphasis on the elderly and the illiterate

EFFECT OF SELF- MOUNTING ON COCOON AND POST - COCOON PARAMETERS IN SILKWORM BOMBYX MORI. L.

In silkworm rearing, self-mounting is rational method of mounting to save labour and time. But in self-mounting, mounting rate is low. To improve the mounting rate various repellents viz. lime, sawdust, kaolin and management practices were tried. Lime and saw dust was found better because of maximum number of larvae climbed and formed the cocoons in the mountage (96.9% &amp; 96.0%), minimum percentage of defective cocoons (5.15% &amp; 5.57%) in lime and saw dust respectively. Further, there was no bad effect on cocoon and post cocoon parameters

The prevalence, pattern, and clinical correlate of Internet gambling disorder in a tertiary care hospital – A cross-sectional observational study

Background: Internet gambling disorder is the fastest-growing mode of gambling addiction. Materials and Methods: It is a cross-sectional study. A total of 31 cases were chosen as per the DSM 5. The Online Gambling Symptoms Assessment Scale (OGSAS) was used to assess the severity, and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview was used for assessing the psychiatric morbidity. Personality profiles were assessed using the International Personality Disorder Examination (IPDE). Results: The prevalence rate of Internet gambling disorder was 0.16%. The majority were under 35 years of age, married, and unemployed. Sports, followed by cards, and the stock market, were the more common types of Internet gambling addiction. As per DSM 5, 25% had severe, 48% had moderate, and 25% had mild addiction. Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) (7), suicidality (5), and depression (3) were the common psychiatric morbidities found in these 31 cases. A fairly strong correlation was observed with Dissocial (0.9), Impulsive (0.8), Borderline (0.9), and Anxious (0.8) personalities with Internet Gambling Disorder. On Logistic Regression, there was a significant association between Internet Gambling Disorder and Psychiatric illness (OR 2.22, 95% CI 1.1591, 4.2867 P = 0.0091). Conclusion: Internet gambling disorder is very common and is being ignored in clinical practice. Internet gambling is significantly associated with psychiatric morbidity. Awareness strategies targeting all levels are very important

Design and evaluation of in situ gel eye drops containing nanoparticles of Gemifloxacin Mesylate

AbstractTraditional eye drops used for topically administering drugs have poor ocular bioavailability due to the biological barriers of the eye. There is an interest to design and develop novel drug delivery systems that would extend the precorneal residence time, reduce the frequency of administration and decrease dose-related toxicity. This study aimed to prepare Nanoparticles of Gemifloxacin Mesylate and incorporate them into an in situ gel. The nanoparticles were prepared by ionic gelation technique, using 32 factorial design. Sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) was used to crosslink Chitosan. The optimized formulation of the nanoparticles (GF4) contained 0.15% Gemifloxacin Mesylate, 0.15% Chitosan and 0.20% STPP, producing 71 nm particle size and 81.11% entrapment efficiency. The prepared nanoparticles showed biphasic release, with an initial burst release of 15% in 1.0 hr and a cumulative drug release of 90.53% at the end of 24 hrs. After that, the prepared nanoparticles were incorporated into an in situ gel, using Poloxamer 407, producing a sustained drug release with efficient antimicrobial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria as confirmed by the cup plate method

Prevalence of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Coinfection in HIV Infected Individuals in South India and Characterization of HCV Genotypes

Purpose: To determine anti-HCV antibodies and genomic subtype of HCV in 1487 confirmed human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive samples. Methods: A total of 1487 confirmed HIV-positive samples were tested for anti-HCV antibodies by using a third generation ELISA kit (Ortho 3.0) and by RT PCR for HCV. HIV and HCV coinfected samples were selected for HCV genotyping by RFLP and subtyping with NS5-type specific primers. Results: A total of 1487 HIV-infected serum samples were screened for HCV infection, of which, a 1443 (97.04%) were negative and 45 (3.02%) were coinfected. HIV-HCV coinfection was predominant in the age group 41-50 years (51.1%). HCV genotyping and subtyping was done for the 45 HCV RNA-positive specimens of which genotype 1 was observed in 31 (68.8%) and genotype 3 was observed in 14 (31.1%) subjects. Further subtyping analysis showed the genotype 1b in 23 (51.1%), 1a in eight (17.7%), 3a in 10 (22.2%) and 3b in four (8.8%) subjects. Conclusion: HIV and HCV seroprevalence is higher in South India, and the most prevalent genotype in coinfection was genotype 1b

Genotype analysis and assessment of antigenic sensitivity for recombinant HCV proteins by indigenous SIBA for detection of Hepatitis C Virus infection: A comparison with 3rd EIA and RT-PCR

33-39The first serological testing for the detection of anti-HCV antibodies using recombinant antigens was introduced in 1991. Since then many developments have taken place and at present third generation ELISA kits are being used most widely and globally. Detection of anti-HCV does not distinguish past from present infections and in diagnostic virology particularly ELISA’s, a positive HCV test result may be non-specific and therefore has to be crosschecked by another test of different principle for which Immunoblots were initially developed. Patients with liver disease attending the inpatient and outpatient wards of the CLRD (Center for Liver Research and Diagnostics) between Aug 2004 and Feb 2007 were screened for HCV by using 3rd generation ELISA, HCV blot, and RT-PCR. Genotyping was done for all the positive samples. Out of 531 samples tested, 211 samples showed identical results as reactive by ELISA, HCV blot and RT-PCR. Out of the 214 genotype samples, genotype 1a was found to be prevalent by 52.33% (n=112), followed by others. RNA based detection by RT-PCR remains the reliable method of HCV diagnosis, however, where there are no facilities for the PCR to be performed particularly in the small to medium laboratory and diagnostic centers, HCV blot could be done as a supplemental assay

Quality by design aided self-nano emulsifying drug delivery systems development for the oral delivery of Benidipine: Improvement of biopharmaceutical performance

The primary objective of the research effort is to establish efficient solid self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems (S-SNEDDS) for benidipine (BD) through the systematic application of a quality-by-design (QbD)-based paradigm. Utilizing Labrafil M 2125 CS, Kolliphor EL, and Transcutol P, the BD-S-SNEDDS were created. The central composite design was adopted to optimize numerous components. Zeta potential, drug concentration, resistance to dilution, pH, refractive index, viscosity, thermodynamic stability, and cloud point were further investigated in the most efficient formulation, BD14, which had a globule size of 156.20 ± 2.40 nm, PDI of 0.25, zeta potential of −17.36 ± 0.18 mV, self-emulsification time of 65.21 ± 1.95 s, % transmittance of 99.80 ± 0.70%, and drug release of 92.65 ± 1.70% at 15 min. S-SNEDDS were formulated using the adsorption process and investigated via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Differential scanning calorimeter, Scanning electron microscopy, and powder X-ray diffraction. Optimized S-SNEDDS batch BD14 dramatically decreased blood pressure in rats in contrast to the pure drug and the commercial product, according to a pharmacodynamics investigation. Accelerated stability tests validated the product’s stability. Therefore, the development of oral S-SNEDDS of BD may be advantageous for raising BD's water solubility and expanding their releasing capabilities, thereby boosting oral absorption.</p

Formulation and Evaluation of pH-Modulated Amorphous Solid Dispersion-Based Orodispersible Tablets of Cefdinir

Cefdinir (CEF) is a semi-synthetic third-generation broad-spectrum oral cephalosporin that exhibits poor solubility at lower pH values. Considering this, pH-modulated CEF solid dispersions (ASDs) were produced by solvent evaporation method employing various hydrophilic carriers and alkalizers. Among different carriers, ASDs produced using PEG 6000 with meglumine as alkalizer were found to significantly increase (p Staphylococcus aureus (MTCC96) and Escherichia coli (MTCC118) demonstrated significantly superior (p < 0.001) efficacy of CEFSD compared to CEF. The porous orodispersible tablets (ODTs) of ASD8 (batch F5) were developed by incorporating ammonium bicarbonate as a subliming agent by direct compression, followed by vacuum drying displayed quick disintegration (27.11 ± 1.96 s) that met compendial norms and near-complete dissolution (93.85 ± 1.27%) in 30 min. The ODTs of ASD8 appear to be a promising platform to mitigate the pH-dependent solubility and dissolution issues associated with CEF in challenging physiological pH conditions prevalent in stomach. Thus, ODTs of ASD8 are likely to effectively manage various infections and avoid development of drug-resistant strains, thereby improving the curing rates