Preparation and characterization of spray-dried valsartan-loaded Eudragit® E PO solid dispersion microparticles

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to develop the immediate release stomach-specific spray-dried formulation of valsartan (VAL) using Eudragit® E PO (EPO) as the carrier for enhancing dissolution rate in a gastric environment. Enhanced solubility and dissolution in gastric pH was achieved by formulating the solid dispersion using a spray drying technique. Different combinations of drug–polymer–surfactant were dissolved in 10% ethanol solution and spray-dried in order to obtain solid dispersion microparticles. Use of the VAL–EPO solid dispersion microparticles resulted in significant improvement of the dissolution rate of the drug at pH 1.2 and pH 4.0, compared to the free drug powder and the commercial product. A hard gelatin capsule was filled with the VAL–EPO solid dispersion powder prior to the dissolution test. The increased dissolution of VAL from solid dispersion microparticles in gastric pH was attributed to the effect of EPO and most importantly the transformation of crystalline drugs to amorphous solid dispersion powder, which was clearly shown by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and powder X-ray diffraction (P-XRD) studies. Thus, VAL, a potential antihypertensive drug in the form of a solid dispersion microparticulate powder, can be effectively delivered in the immediate release dosage form for stomach-specific drug delivery

Fuzzy C-means Clustering and Pseudo-coloring-based Pest detection of Ripe-Fruit Health Monitoring System using 2-D Aggrotech Images

Fruits are the gift of almighty to nature. Fresh fruit promote good health and having rich source of micronutrients, vitamins and fiber value. But due to its high sugar level on ripping stage different type of pest are attracted by its smell and effects on harvesting. This paper focuses on identification of the pest on ripe fruits using Fuzzy C Means (FCM) clustering for segmentation and simultaneously highlights the segmented insects with Pseudo-coloring using Pseudo-color image processing techniques. IoT integrated Drone based images are inputted as the dataset to perform detection of pest on fruit monitoring system. Before clustering-based segmentation the images undergo preprocessing stage for tone correction and noise removal. Hybrid FCM with Pseudo-color image processing method supersedes many segmentation algorithms by performance

Performance of Tomato with Organic Manures in Plastic Tunnel

Tomato is one of the most demanded vegetable with increasing trend of commercial cultivation in Nepal. As it is the heavy feeder crop thus soil nutrient management has been always challenging. Since, in modern world organic production has been favored by consumers for many reasons thus we aimed to compare the efficacy of various compost, mineral fertilizers and their combinations in tomato production and soil productivity. For the purpose a field experiment in plastic tunnel was carried out in Horticulture Research Division, Khumaltar in two consecutive years (2014 and 2015). Srijana, a popular tomato hybrid among commercial producers, was purposively selected. Eight treatments (control, recommended doses of chemical fertilizers, compost 15 t ha-1 + cattle urine, compost 10 t ha-1 + cattle urine, compost 12.5 t ha-1 + cattle urine, compost 15 t ha-1 + 1/4 recommended dose of chemical fertilizers, compost 10 t ha-1 + ¾ recommended dose of chemical fertilizer and compost 12.5 t ha-1 + 1/2 recommended dose of chemical fertilizer) were laid out in randomized complete block design and replicated thrice. The result showed significant (p < 0.05) positive correlation between the plant height and yield of tomato. The treatment with compost dose of 12.5 t ha-1 with half dose of recommended dose of chemical fertilizers produced the highest incremental yield (85% increment) over other treatments followed by compost 15 t ha-1 with cattle urine. Addition of soil organic carbon, soil nitrogen, soil potassium by the increasing level of compost though not significant, but increment in carbon content, nitrogen content and potassium content of soil observed in successive years. For commercial producer at plastic tunnel, compost at the rate 12.5 t ha-1 with half dose of recommended level of chemical fertilizer (100:90:40 kg N:P:K ha-1) is recommended to apply in field, while for organic producer, application of 15 tha-1 compost with fermented cattle urine is recommended

Preparation and properties of electrodeposited Ni-B-V2O5 composite coatings

Coatings of Ni-B have gained significant importance in various industries owing to their major role in improving mechanical properties including hardness, conductivity, and wear resistance. Despite all these characteristic features, there is still the need for a lot of modifications. This is to improve the properties of the coating so as to increase their durability and overall performance. The current study is based on development of Ni-B-V2O5 composite coating on mild steel substrate through the electrodeposition technique and the investigation of mechanical and anti-corrosive properties of the formed coating. The incorporation of V2O5 particles into the composite coating was confirmed by energy dispersive spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction pattern showed amorphous nature of electrodeposited Ni-B matrix, while the crystalline nature improved with the addition of V2O5 particles to the composite. Field emission scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopic studies clearly indicated that the addition of V2O5 particles to the Ni-B coating increased the surface roughness. Further studies reveal increase in the micro-hardness (by 171.11%), and elastic modulus (by 9.4%) in case of the Ni-B-V2O5 composite coating relative to the Ni-B coating. The enhanced micro-hardness was attributed to the inclusion of hard V2O5 particles into the Ni-B matrix, which in turn, may inhibit the dislocation motion in the composite. An increase in corrosion resistance (by 229%) was also experienced in the electrodeposited Ni-B-V2O5 composite coating in comparison to the bare Ni-B matrix, which may be due to the masking of inert V2O5 particles on the active region of the Ni-B composite.This project was supported by the Research Groups Program (Research Group number RG-1440-070 )

Bianchi Type I Cosmology in Generalized Saez-Ballester Theory via Noether Gauge Symmetry

In this paper, we investigate the generalized Saez-Ballester scalar-tensor theory of gravity via Noether gauge symmetry (NGS) in the background of Bianchi type I cosmological spacetime. We start with the Lagrangian of our model and calculate its gauge symmetries and corresponding invariant quantities. We obtain the potential function for the scalar field in the exponential form. For all the symmetries obtained, we determine the gauge functions corresponding to each gauge symmmetry which include constant and dynamic gauge. We discuss cosmological implications of our model and show that it is compatible with the observational data.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in 'European Physical Journal C

Effect of early tranexamic acid administration on mortality, hysterectomy, and other morbidities in women with post-partum haemorrhage (WOMAN): an international, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background Post-partum haemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal death worldwide. Early administration of tranexamic acid reduces deaths due to bleeding in trauma patients. We aimed to assess the effects of early administration of tranexamic acid on death, hysterectomy, and other relevant outcomes in women with post-partum haemorrhage. Methods In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, we recruited women aged 16 years and older with a clinical diagnosis of post-partum haemorrhage after a vaginal birth or caesarean section from 193 hospitals in 21 countries. We randomly assigned women to receive either 1 g intravenous tranexamic acid or matching placebo in addition to usual care. If bleeding continued after 30 min, or stopped and restarted within 24 h of the first dose, a second dose of 1 g of tranexamic acid or placebo could be given. Patients were assigned by selection of a numbered treatment pack from a box containing eight numbered packs that were identical apart from the pack number. Participants, care givers, and those assessing outcomes were masked to allocation. We originally planned to enrol 15 000 women with a composite primary endpoint of death from all-causes or hysterectomy within 42 days of giving birth. However, during the trial it became apparent that the decision to conduct a hysterectomy was often made at the same time as randomisation. Although tranexamic acid could influence the risk of death in these cases, it could not affect the risk of hysterectomy. We therefore increased the sample size from 15 000 to 20 000 women in order to estimate the effect of tranexamic acid on the risk of death from post-partum haemorrhage. All analyses were done on an intention-to-treat basis. This trial is registered with ISRCTN76912190 (Dec 8, 2008); ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00872469; and PACTR201007000192283. Findings Between March, 2010, and April, 2016, 20 060 women were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive tranexamic acid (n=10 051) or placebo (n=10 009), of whom 10 036 and 9985, respectively, were included in the analysis. Death due to bleeding was significantly reduced in women given tranexamic acid (155 [1·5%] of 10 036 patients vs 191 [1·9%] of 9985 in the placebo group, risk ratio [RR] 0·81, 95% CI 0·65–1·00; p=0·045), especially in women given treatment within 3 h of giving birth (89 [1·2%] in the tranexamic acid group vs 127 [1·7%] in the placebo group, RR 0·69, 95% CI 0·52–0·91; p=0·008). All other causes of death did not differ significantly by group. Hysterectomy was not reduced with tranexamic acid (358 [3·6%] patients in the tranexamic acid group vs 351 [3·5%] in the placebo group, RR 1·02, 95% CI 0·88–1·07; p=0·84). The composite primary endpoint of death from all causes or hysterectomy was not reduced with tranexamic acid (534 [5·3%] deaths or hysterectomies in the tranexamic acid group vs 546 [5·5%] in the placebo group, RR 0·97, 95% CI 0·87-1·09; p=0·65). Adverse events (including thromboembolic events) did not differ significantly in the tranexamic acid versus placebo group. Interpretation Tranexamic acid reduces death due to bleeding in women with post-partum haemorrhage with no adverse effects. When used as a treatment for postpartum haemorrhage, tranexamic acid should be given as soon as possible after bleeding onset. Funding London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Pfizer, UK Department of Health, Wellcome Trust, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

FORMULATION OF ONCE A DAY CONTROLLED RELEASE TABLET OF INDOMETHACIN BASED ON HPMC-MANNITOL

A hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC K4M, HPMC K15M, and HPMC K100M) matrix tablet containing Indomethacin along with mannitol was formulated as a function of HPMC viscosity, and was compared with the commercial products. The release characteristics of the matrix tablet were investigated in the intestinal fluid, 6.8 pH phosphate buffer for 12 hours. The formulated products and two marketed products as reference sample were studied for its different physicochemical parameters and in vitro dissolution studies. It was found that the drug release profile decreases with increase in viscosity of polymer and, with increase polymer level in the formulations. Matrix tablets formulated employing Drug:HPMC K15M:mannitol::1:0.25:1 and Drug:HPMC K15M:mannitol::1:0.25:2 gave slow release of indomethacin spread over 12 hours and their dissolution profiles were compared with the Indian marketed product. The dissolution profiles of both the formulations were similar to the dissolution profile of the marketed product, the similarity factor being 74.59 and 68.04 respectively. The dissolution profiles of formulations containing same viscosity grade of HPMC in remarkably different concentrations and different viscosity grade of HPMC in same concentrations were different

BIM4D-based scheduling for assembling and lifting in precast-enabled construction

This research addresses the problem of assembly scheduling in crane-assisted precast construction while considering issues of building layout interference and optimal crane lifting. Traditionally, assembly scheduling and lifting path planning are treated as two separate issues due to their distinct natures. The current work introduces an approach that combines them for precast construction planning to achieve a comprehensive and cost-effective solution. A BIM4D-based Intelligent Assembly Scheduler (BIAS) is designed in conjunction with the Computer-Aided Lifting Planner developed at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. BIM4D is the Building Information Modeling (BIM) with the time dimension (i.e., scheduling information). Our scheduler takes an inbuilt timeframe for selected precast elements from BIM4D as input and outputs the micro-schedule in terms of the assembly sequence for these precast elements. This problem is solved using multi-objective optimization. Given a group of precast elements and their BIM4D timeframe, the micro-scheduling is determined based on (1) the relative importance of the elements’ physical properties, (2) the interference (neighbouring relation) among the elements’ positions, and (3) collision-free lifting paths of the elements. A Multi-level Elitist Genetic Algorithm (MEGA) is proposed to determine the optimal sequence taking into consideration of both assembling and lifting for the elements. A case study is performed with the BIM4D data of a residential building. The results of the case study demonstrate BIAS's efficiency and effectiveness for BIM4D based construction scheduling.This study is supported under the RIE2020 Industry Alignment Fund – Industry Collaboration Projects (IAF-ICP) Funding Initiative, as well as cash and in-kind contribution from Surbana Jurong Pte Ltd

Performance of Tomato with Organic Manures in Plastic Tunnel

Tomato is one of the most demanded vegetable with increasing trend of commercial cultivation in Nepal. As it is the heavy feeder crop thus soil nutrient management has been always challenging. Since, in modern world organic production has been favored by consumers for many reasons thus we aimed to compare the efficacy of various compost, mineral fertilizers and their combinations in tomato production and soil productivity. For the purpose a field experiment in plastic tunnel was carried out in Horticulture Research Division, Khumaltar in two consecutive years (2014 and 2015). Srijana, a popular tomato hybrid among commercial producers, was purposively selected. Eight treatments (control, recommended doses of chemical fertilizers, compost 15 t ha-1 + cattle urine, compost 10 t ha-1 + cattle urine, compost 12.5 t ha-1 + cattle urine, compost 15 t ha-1 + 1/4 recommended dose of chemical fertilizers, compost 10 t ha-1 + ¾ recommended dose of chemical fertilizer and compost 12.5 t ha-1 + 1/2 recommended dose of chemical fertilizer) were laid out in randomized complete block design and replicated thrice. The result showed significant (p < 0.05) positive correlation between the plant height and yield of tomato. The treatment with compost dose of 12.5 t ha-1 with half dose of recommended dose of chemical fertilizers produced the highest incremental yield (85% increment) over other treatments followed by compost 15 t ha-1 with cattle urine. Addition of soil organic carbon, soil nitrogen, soil potassium by the increasing level of compost though not significant, but increment in carbon content, nitrogen content and potassium content of soil observed in successive years. For commercial producer at plastic tunnel, compost at the rate 12.5 t ha-1 with half dose of recommended level of chemical fertilizer (100:90:40 kg N:P:K ha-1) is recommended to apply in field, while for organic producer, application of 15 tha-1 compost with fermented cattle urine is recommended